With the State Election Commission allotting poll symbols only on Monday, just 10 days before the city goes to polls, Independent candidates are adopting innovative strategies to familiarise voters from their wards with their poll symbols.
With limited funds, these candidates are
devising strategies that will help them attract the attention of the masses rather than a select few.
A citizen candidate from ward number 149, Chembur, Dr Neelam Rane’s symbol is a kite, and to promote it, she is planning kite-flying events in the ward. “Apart from the regular house-to-house visits, we are also going to have kite-flying sessions in our ward so that people know that the kite is our symbol and that they should vote for it,” said Dr Sandeep Rane, her husband who helps co-ordinate her campaign.
There are more than 1,000 Independent candidates contesting the civic polls this time, all of who got their symbols on Monday, two days late because of a delay in the scrutiny of the nomination forms. Assuming that it will take them two days to get their campaign material ready, these candidates will have a week to popularise their symbol. As per the SEC rules, candidates must stop campaigning 48 hours before the elections.
Sherley Singh, a Mumbai 227 citizens’ candidate from ward number 64 in Juhu, will record a video that features her friends wearing T-shirts with a candle on them — the candle is her symbol. She plans to upload this video on youtube and email the link to as many voters as possible from her constituency. “The entire campaign is Internet-driven. What we are looking at is a catchy video that will help grab eyeballs and make a mass impact,” said Singh. Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt and singer Shaan are rooting for Singh and will help publicise her symbol through Facebook and Twitter.
Bhaskar Prabhu, an Independent candidate from ward number 195 in Dadar (east) will be distributing small balloons in every house he visits as part of his campaign as it is his election symbol.
The ‘captain will fan the flame’ is the catch line that Retd. Captain Vijay Shivdasani has coined from his symbol, the ceiling fan. “My entire campaign will be woven around this phrase. It’s the flame of change that we are trying to fan,” said Shivdasani who is contesting from Cuffe Parade.