This LS 2014 Elections ... will you, the voter, make a promise ?

“The AAP will make no promises to you. Instead it will ask you to make a promise. This time you will not cast your vote on the basis of kinship. You will forget caste; you will drive away the distributors of alcohol and money. AAP has not come to ask you for your vote. If there is anything we ask of you, it is to have faith in yourselves; and to listen to the voice of your soul. This election is not about the victory or defeat of political parties; it is about victory or defeat within ourselves. In front of the voting machine, we must think of the future of our children, the future of our city and our dreams for the future of our country.” Short link http://bit.ly/meera4mumbai

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Update as promised !

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/meera/pages/1/features/original/Bargeimage.jpg?1402172729 



Thank you for your many messages of Greetings and support !

As promised in my last mail, I am glad to share an update on our efforts for Mumbai's PortLands and for the Delhi elections both of which are yielding very encouraging results.

First to the PortLands - attached is a link to the joint Recommendations made by the APLI Mumbai citizens' group, the Indian Merchants' Chamber (IMC) and the team from Columbia's GSAPP and Studio X.

http://issuu.com/apli_mumbai/docs/imc_columbia_apli_conference_report/1

Thanks to Vice Admiral IC Rao, who has personally delivered and discussed the report with the Hon Shipping Minister, the senior most officials in the Ministries of Shipping and Urban Development and the Mumbai Port Trust, we are now confident that that our proposals will merit serious consideration.

As you are aware the report of the Rani Jadhav PortLands redevelopment committee is not yet in the public domain. However we understand from informal sources, that they too have incorporated many of the citizens' suggestions proposed by us - specifically the legislative framework we have proposed as well as our strong recommendation that this area be used primarily for much needed Public infrastructure, Social utilities and Open Spaces.

Over the past weeks I have addressed media (especially through the medium of Radio) and many students gatherings, most recently the Zephyrus conference at St Xaviers, to share our perspective on the PortLands. I am delighted at the response by young people from all walks of life who wish to come together to re-claim this beautiful part of our city, and prevent another land grab, as took place in the unfortunate Mill Lands.

Should you too wish to join the #PortLands movement, please write in to us at apliportlands@gmail.com, sharing your area of expertise and how you would like to be involved.

As encouraging as the progress on Mumbai's PortLands, has been the response to the call for Good Governance and clean politics in the Delhi elections. I am sure we will all look back to the elections of February 2015 as a turning point in Indian politics. AAP's contribution to clean politics is simple and evident - had it not been for AAP, our main opposition would not replace their local Party head, who had serious allegations of corruption against him, within a few days of his appointment and a mere 3 weeks before the election.

Campaigning in Delhi it is clear that this is going to be a close fight. What stands out is the quality of AAPs candidates. MLA's who had won in last year's elections, clearly command the loyalty and confidence of voters in their constituency - as they have spent every Rupee of their MLA LAD funds on tangible projects within their constituencies in consultation with local citizens, ALM's and RWAs. They have been accessible, honest and efficient - the response by voters as we have campaigned has been uniformly positive.

Candidates who lost in the last election - many by very slim margins have been hard at work for the past year. Campaigning with them has been an eye opener and a great learning. They have worked tirelessly for the past year to find concrete solutions to issues in their constituencies - and during campaigning speak simply and straight forwardly of what their action plans are.

It has been a pleasure and privilege to campaign for these honest and upright candidates. It has also been wonderful to stand alongside volunteers from across our country and many from overseas who have assembled in Delhi to support deserving AAP candidates.

Today we start the final and most important leg of campaigning. Please do consider joining as a volunteer or donor - this is the time to be part of the change !
Warm regards

Meera Sanyal
Portlands@meerasanyal.com
http://www.meerasanyal.com/