It?s back to office from Monday for Meera Sanyal, the former country head, ABN Amro Bank, as she recovers from a defeat in the elections. On being asked what would be her next course of action, Sanyal said she would go back to her job as country head, ABN Amro. ?I was on a sabbatical from work and now shall resume office from May 18.?
But she is not giving up on her work in the constituency. ?I will continue to work for the constituency. I am involved in resident associations and citizen groups, with which I shall continue to work with. I will be back in the fray in the next polls.?
Similarly, another high profile candidate Capt Gopinath too contesting elections as an independent candidate from Bangalore south also lost out to four time sitting MP Ananth Kumar from BJP. Gopinath who fought the most prestigious constituency in Bangalore had the support of corporate heavyweights from the IT industry and renowned citizens. Gopinath was stoical in his defeat. ?I accept the people’s verdict. But I am disappointed that the voter turnout was as low as 45%. If the voter turnout was 70%, I am sure I would have won.? He was disappointed by voter apathy and disinterest, he said.
Capt Gopinath was however elated that the UPA had won with a large majority. ?The Left has been kept out. Now at least the concrete policies of the government will be passed through without opposition.? His plans now is to see that the elected candidates are responsible to their constituencies and also stir a change in the people who have not shown an interest in the electoral process.
?It shows that the people favour a party system,? said Sanyal while speaking with FE. Sanyal contested against sitting MP Milind Deora of the Congress and Mohan Rawle of the Shiv Sena. ?This verdict shows that parties win.?
Meanwhile, a jubiliant Shashi Tharoor, a debutant and a political novice, was elated by his victory over Ramachandran Nair (CPI) from Thiruvananthapuram by a margin of 99,998 votes, which is unprecedented for it is a seat which the Congress hasn?t won in decades. The victory is also remarkable for Tharoor is not born in Kerala or educated here and also not very fluent in Malayalam.
?I accept this victory with humility,? said Tharoor, former undersecretary, UN. He expected to win but with a ?small? margin, he says, as the candidates in the fray were ?heavy weights and very strong?. ?I am stunned,? he said, adding, ?this victory now takes the responsibility and expectations of the voters on to a different level altogether.? Similarly, another Congress candidate Navin Jindal, from the Jindal Group, has won his seat from Kurukshetra, in Harayana.