Netas woo voters with festive bonanza

With an eye on civic polls, political parties are busy organising festivals and mahotsavs to woo the aam aadmi

With the civic elections around the corner, local netas are trying all the tricks in the book to flatter susceptible voters. Claiming to realise the social responsibility towards the people who have elected them, about a dozen politicians from major political parties have organised festivals and mahotsavs in their respective areas.


Big catch: MNS MLA Nitin Sardesai chats with a fisherwoman during the
Koli food festival organised by him in Mahim. pic/pradeep Dhivar

Congress MLC Charan Singh Sapra, who organised the Mulund Fest, said, "This is not the first time I have done this. It's the second year of the festival, and it is completely apolitical."

New model
This year, Sapra has added a new model to the list of events. He felicitated some prominent citizens from the area yesterday. Besides, he will release a book titled Mulund Book of Records next month, which will feature all of them.

Likewise NCP MLA Sachin Ahir, who is also the organiser of Worli Mahotsav, claims that he only executes his social responsibility by organising the festival. "Such events attract a large number of people and provide us with an opportunity to interact and mingle with people," he said.

Wooing the locals
However, a party insider said that the events are organised with the sole intention of wooing the locals. "Though the organisers may not be the ones who are contesting elections, they are the key people from the area who play a decisive role in civic elections. Hence, even senior party leaders take such events seriously," he said.

An organiser, who is also an MLA, acknowledged that such festivals help parties get closer to the youth. "It's the young people who play an important role during elections. The glamour quotient of a festival attracts youth towards the party, which really works during elections," he said.