It?s a stream that corporate India doesn?t usually choose to navigate. Being in politics. But the events of 26/11 changed the mindscape for Meera H Sanyal, chairperson and country executive, ABN Amro in India, which has been acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland. Instead of choosing to complain about the state of the nation, the 47-year-old banker decided to get out there and participate in the process and change it. Well, 26/11 was the tipping point for her. ?It was time to act,? she says. Sanyal has plunged into the unknown waters of politics with a reason. She wants to ?transform? Mumbai. Sanyal is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai South as an independent candidate.
Mumbai South constituency is not an unfamiliar terrain that Sanyal is contesting from. She has done her schooling from Convent of Jesus & Mary and Cathedral School, went to Sydenham College, works in the bank at Nariman Point and also lives at Malabar Hill?all in her constituency. ?I know the problems of the ordinary person because I am just one of them. Like everybody else, I go shopping for fruits at Crawford market and buy fish from Sassoon Docks. I have jumped in and out of Mumbai?s locals.?
Her plans and dreams for Mumbai are in place. She reels them off. ?Mumbai needs a CEO. Look at Delhi. It is a well-administered city and that is because there is a single point of accountability in Sheila Dikshit. We can have a mayor or a fully-empowered municipal commissioner for Mumbai. As of now, we have a chief minister, a police commissioner, a municipal commissioner, a mayor and a sheriff; all of whom have part control. We need a person in charge for Mumbai alone. We need accountability.?
If there is a contradiction between the world of business that has been her home for over two decades to the new world of politics, she has zoomed in on it and is geared to harness the synergies. ?It is simple. My experience in the corporate world has taught me to define a problem and then look for solutions. It?s not done this way in politics.?
Sanyal has a five-point programme which she espouses for Mumbai. Ticking off every point with her fingers, she says, ?I want more investment for the city?s infrastructure. Instead of opening up the city and creating sea links, it would be wise to improve the existing public transport system.?
While interacting with commuters at the railway stations, Sanyal says, she found out that they had ?sound? ideas for easy and quick transport. ?Some of them said that it would be better to make flyovers for rails instead of waiting for a metro to be set up.? She feels if only politicians involved people in their plans, they would come up with cost effective and useful plans that don?t take time.
The one thing that Sanyal stresses throughout the interview, is her concern for ?tighter security?. ?26/11 was a shame, for it showed us that we hadn?t learnt from any of our previous mistakes. It is time for people from all walks of life to come out and join politics.? Her other plans for Mumbai: citizens? empowerment at the neighbourhood level and a directly-elected and fully-empowered mayor for Mumbai. Sanyal is contesting the elections with her own finances. What prompted her to do that? ?I have given 25 years to banking and learnt and gained a lot. I would like to give the next 25 years to the country. This is my investment,? she says.
Yet, this is not what Sanyal dreamt for herself in her childhood. She surprises when she unravels her dream. ?As a child, I dreamt of becoming a mother.? She says, ? The desire was so strong that I played with dolls, talked and walked with them, looking forward to the day when I would become a mother.? Though this dream grew strong, she harboured another as she was growing up. Of becoming an astronaut. ?It was the time when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. I was taken up by that achievement and even did a comic strip in my college magazine on space.? Why did she give up on it? She smiles. ?One gives up on one dream for another because one has to be practical.?
In addition to her husband, Sanyal?s parents and brother too are pitched in her political campaign. Her father, vice- admiral (retd) G Hiranandani and mother, a trained lawyer, taught her the dignity of hard work, she says. ?We travelled a lot as my father?s job took him to many places, but I learnt a lot by observing my mother who ran a house on the limited income of a naval officer. She stitched, cooked and did everything at home with her hands. My parents placed a high premium on education. They told us that even if we got educated abroad, we were to come to India and work here.?
Twenty-five years in the banking sector and Sanyal says she loved every day of it. ?I have learnt a lot. Out of these many years in my career, I have been 17 years at ABN Amro. I am very proud of all that we could do here, be it in finance, setting up most of the telecom network in the country, power projects, setting up a global BPO or our working in micro finance.? In 2001, Sanyal set up ACES, ABN AMRO?s Global Shared Services company, which currently employs over 5,000 and provides banking operations, research, global finance and HR shared services to 40 countries. Sanyal talks fondly of the bank?s CSR activities.
?We have undertaken several projects that aim both to alleviate poverty and conserve bio-diversity (especially in endangered tiger habitats), as well as promote watersheds and sequester carbon through working with tribals and marginal farmers in degraded land areas.? As of now, Sanyal is on a sabbatical from work for her political campaign.
It is a few days now that Sanyal has been campaigning. What has been her experience? ?I have been welcomed wherever I go. People come to me and talk about their problems. Their problems are not new to me as these are my problems too ?of the lack of an efficient transport system, rising prices, et al.?
What do people ask her? ?Oh, there are a number of people who ask me, why I am here and what am I going to do? Many want to know why I am contesting as an independent.? Why has she chosen to be an independent? ?The meaning of ?independence? is to be free. Free of the constraints imposed by others; free of the dictates of those who make decisions on citizens? behalf based on the cold calculations of party politics; and free to vote on issues on the basis of principles without having to worry about trading off one interest against another.? She adds, ?I listen to my conscience. I?m guided by our Constitution. And I represent my constituents. I can do it effectively only if I am an independent?independent of parties, but connected with the people.?
As an independent, Sanyal says, ?I will represent my constituency without being beholden to the murky business of large-scale politics. My causes are the causes of my constituents, not those of a party desirous of coming to, or remaining in, power. I will be directly accountable to the people who elect me. They will be my high command. My motivations are not diluted by the expectations of office. My allegiance will always remain with my constituents.?
She is a familiar figure in her constituency now. But people are curious to know more about her. Some ask, ?Are you the banker who is standing for elections?? What touches her, says Sanyal, is that people in her constituency are ?supportive? of her. ?I am an unknown person for many people in my constituency. Yet, they are offering me their support.?
Sanyal has two children. She says, ?My children have taught me about management. Children change your life and you learn to be democratic as well as coaxing. One also understands the importance of being firm. I think women are better managers and leaders because they have to perform so many roles.?
In the eventuality of Sanyal losing, what would be her action plan? The answer is given in the same soft tone. ?I am committed to my work in the public arena, whether I win or lose.? And then as an afterthought adds, ?Whatever be the outcome, it will be a learning experience. I will continue to invest my time in my constituency.?