With the second weekend of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat (BPP) elections round the corner, we decided to review the past weekend and see what some of the prominent candidates have to say about their experiences and observations so far. As 32 candidates vie for the seven seats of trustees to the most powerful Parsi institution in the city, a variety of views and opinions are thrown up in the process.

A former corporator from Dadar’s Parsi Colony, Rustom Tirandaz who is an independent candidate describes the first weekend as “excellent”.

Tirandaz says that the enthusiasm among the Parsis was evident. “We are facing a revival, as Parsis are combining and casting their votes and showing contempt for character assassination that is taking place,” says Tirandaz.

Question him on the rumours of alleged rigging, he says, “It’s just not possible. We even use indelible ink.” Tirandaz also feels that the first day of the polls (Saturday) was strained only because there was an unexpectedly large turnout.

Noshir Dadrawala, Adult Franchise for Progress (AFP) and CEO of the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy, feels that whatever went wrong on day one was corrected on the second day. “We’re expecting a turnout of 15,000- 17,000 at the end of the three weekends, out of around 30,000 registered votes, which is fair enough,” says Dadrawala.

He adds, “We must maintain some decorum. The accusations that are flying around should be avoided, especially by such an enlightened committee such as the Parsis.”

... contd.