Contesting Municipal Elections: Motivations & Strategies (A Study of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Elections 2012 and 2017) Report of a Research Project Undertaken by Mr. Sanjay Patil Under the Guidance of Professor Surendra Jondhale Department of Civics & Politics University of Mumbai An Initiative of Institute of Democracy, Elections and Good Governance A Wing of State Election Commission, Maharashtra 2017 Locating Mumbai from google Satellite Map ii iii iv Table of Contents Illustration- Locating Mumbai from Google satellite map ii List of Tables vi List of Graphs vi Foreword vii Preface viii Acknowledgements x Executive Summary xiii 1. Introduction and Research Methodology 1 2. Motivation, Political Recruitment and Urban Politics: A Theoretical 16 Framework 3. From Bombay to Mumbai: Journey of the City 29 4. Electoral Politics of the City 55 5. Why and How People Contest: Understanding Candidate’s 67 Motivations, Strategies and Challenges 6. Discussion 110 7. Major Concerns and Suggestions for Reforms 116 Appendix i Interview Questionnaire 124 Bibliography 127 v List of Tables Sr. No. Title Page No. 1. Party Wise Seat Position in BMC Elections 1992-2017 58 2. Reservation Status 1992-2017 58 3. No. of candidates contested the election 1992-2017 59 4. Reservation* Gender Electoral Participation (contested 59 candidates) 5. Winning Share- Gender wise 1992-2017 62 6. Female Participation and Winning in General Seats (Non- 62 women) 7. Independent Candidates Reservation wise 1992-2017 64 8. Winning position of the main parties across Reserve 65 Categories 9. BMC Election 2017: Reservation Pattern 91 List of Graphs Sr. No. Title Page No. 1. Gender wise Participation 1992-2017 60 2. Gender wise Winners 1992-2017 62 3. Independent Candidates 63 4. Voter Turnout 1992-2017 64 vi Foreword I am happy to mention that University of Mumbai was one of the first Research Institutes to respond to the appeal of the State Election Commission, Maharashtra to conduct research in the neglected sphere of the local body elections. Mr. Sanjay Patil, Research Coordinator under the guidance of Dr. Surendra Jondhale, Professor of the Department of Civics and Politics has conducted a detailed study entitled “Contesting Municipal Elections: Motivations and Strategies (A Study of BMC Elections 2012 and 2017)” prior to the elections in February 2017. The study tries to understand the motivational factors behind candidates contesting various elections. It also tries to understand the various methods used by candidates to influence the voters. The study has come out with some very interesting suggestions and recommendations. I am happy that the above research report is now being published for wider dissemination and future reference. I am sure that various stakeholders would find this report immensely useful. I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Sanjay Patil and Dr. Surendra Jondhale for the above report. J. S. Saharia State Election Commissioner Maharashtra. Acknowledgements At the outset, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who assisted and supported me during this research work. To begin with, I am extremely grateful to the State Election Commission of Maharashtra and the University of Mumbai for giving me the opportunity and entrusting me with this responsibility. The research was commissioned by the State Election Commission of Maharashtra. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Shri. Jageshwar Saharia, State Election Commissioner, Maharashtra for extending an opportunity, in the form of this project to the Department of Civics and Politics, University of Mumbai. I also wish to extend my gratitude to Shri. Shekhar Channe, Secretary, State Election Commission, Maharashtra, for his involvement in the project through his timely and valuable guidance to me. This project would not have seen the light of the day without the guidance, sheer ambition and goodwill of my excellent teacher and guide Dr. Surendra Jondhale. He was always by my side to extend all possible help for this project. My sincere and heartfelt thanks to Shri. K. Suryakrishnamurty, Deputy Collector, Government of Maharashtra, for his guidance and support throughout the process of the project along with some excellent academic inputs at every stage. I express my gratitude to Dr. Sudha Mohan (Professor & Head), Department of Civics and Politics for allowing me to work on this project and being extremely positive and encouraging at all times. I am thankful to Shri. Jagdish More, PRO, State Election Commission, Maharashtra for his help and support. I would also like to thank officials at the State Election commission namely Ms. Reena Phansekar, Under Secretary, Ms. Pranali Ghonge, Assistant Commissioner, Shri. Atul Jadhav, Section Officer and others for their help and support. I am highly indebted to the Election Department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, especially Shri. Ramakant Nikam, for his guidance and for providing the necessary information and data of the past years which was of immense help for the project. I wish to send heartfelt thanks to my partner Ms. Ankita Bhatkhande for her overwhelming support and help not only in the entire process of data collection but also for helping me x write more articulately. She has been the biggest source of strength and inspiration for me in the entire process. Data collection was a big task considering the expanse of the city and the need for in- depth interviews. Thanks to Hanmant Wanole, Rajesh Patole and Omkar Waghmare who helped me in collecting the data from old records and conducting interviews for the project. These three stood with me at all times during the entire process. Special thanks to Abin Johnson, Bhavya Gandhi and Heramb Sathye for their help in using statistical tools for data analysis. It would not have been possible to work on a huge data of election results without Hanmant, Abin, Bhavya and Heramb. Scheduling meetings with corporators was an extremely tough task which became simpler with the help of Shri. Yuvraj Mohite (Senior Journalist), Shri. Vinayak Dige and Shri. Sameer Surve. I would like to thank my Ph.D. Guide Dr. Mrudul Nile and other faculty members of the Department for their continuous support and encouragement. Dr. Mrudul Nile is always a great source of inspiration for me in all my research endeavors. His inputs, valuable feedback and networking helped the project immensely. I would like to thank Prof. Sachin Pardhe and Smt. Sneha Shete, for the continuous encouragement that kept me going. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my teacher Dr. Chandrasheel Tambe for his critical inputs. He was just a call away anytime I needed help especially with my research methodology and was like guiding light in times of confusion and anxiety. Thanks to Prof. Prashant Kelkar and Dr. Harshad Bhosale for their theoretical inputs, continuous encouragement and guidance to complete this research work. I would also like to thank Mr. Ravindra Swami for his wholehearted assistance in data collection and the cover page design work. I am grateful to the entire staff of the Department of Civics and Politics for the facilities and the help that they have offered throughout this project. My gratitude also goes to Smt. Anagha Bhatkhande for her encouragement and support throughout the writing of the research project. xi Finally, I would like to express my very special thanks to my parents and my entire family for bearing with me and extending each and every kind of support during the entire course of this project. I also owe this project to all my friends and all well-wishers who have contributed directly or indirectly to the successful completion of my research work. Last but not the least, I would like thank all the candidates and respondents who took time out from their busy schedules for the interviews which helped the project immensely. Sanjay Pandurang Patil xii Executive Summary The State Election Commission of Maharashtra has taken up the initiative of collaborating with Universities and Civil Society organizations engaged in election-related studies and reforms to undertake research on local bodies of self-governance. The rationale behind it was the lack of systematic studies on local body elections. The current study focuses on the motivations and strategies of the candidates contesting Municipal elections with reference to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections of 2012 and 2017. It is the second report looking at candidate motivations and strategies in local body elections after a detailed study on the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) Elections of 2015. While looking at the motivations and strategies of candidates, the research aims to look at the entire process of local body elections in today’s day and time- from fielding candidates to winning elections. It also aims to look at some of the concerns raised with respect to elections in today’s times including the increasing use of money and muscle power, electoral malpractices, etc. The study was undertaken with an intention to contribute to the process of policy formulation and election-related reforms by studying local bodies of self-governance in detail. In a megacity like Mumbai whose demographic structure is diverse and complex at the same time, studying electoral processes is a challenging task. The city has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few decades with neo-liberal market forces directly influencing the aspirations and ambitions of its people. Elections at such a juncture are nothing more than a spectacle with a large amount of money being spent on electoral campaigning. With time, electoral activities have also gained sophistication and professionalism as campaigning is assuming newer forms with the excessive use of technology and social media. While understanding the dynamics of elections in such a megacity, it is important to look at the ‘processes’ rather than merely studying the ‘results’. The research is an attempt to understand what goes behind each and every stage in the whole electoral process- from a candidate’s decision to contest an election to campaigning strategies deployed and later electoral results.