Mayoral politics goes well with wine

GURGAON: The recently held civic polls and the newly elected mayor of Gurgaon were the talk of the town on Wednesday. Shweta Kadian, a homemaker from Sushant Lok, who had just initiated a round of rummy with her friends in an elite golf club in Gurgaon, said she and her friends were closely following the elections.
"Even so, I did not vote because I don't think that a municipal corporation can make much of a difference to my life.It is the private developers who are responsible for the infrastructure of most condominium societies like ours," she said. "I am still a little sceptical about the fact that the appointed mayor is from old Gurgaon. I don't know whether he'll understand the problems that we have to face on a daily basis. Private colonies are run very differently," she added.
The upper class in the city, though accused of a low turnout in the municipal elections, was also discussing the issue on Wednesday. From their evening golf sessions and Sunday brunches in community clubs to high-profile parties, people could be heard voicing their opinion on the impact of the elections. "I was very excited about casting my vote as I have been living in Gurgaon for a long time and know that the city is in dire need of basic infrastructural development. Although many of my close friends didn't vote, they realise the importance of having an elected council and so they keep themselves abreast of all the developments," said Rohit Sareen, a senior corporate executive.
A lot of corporate executives, who initially relocated to Gurgaon for work, ended up buying property in the city. "Once you invest in property, you know that the decisions taken by the city municipality will affect you directly. I have been closely following local land policies since I purchased a flat in 2010. The elections, therefore, were very important to me," said T Shirin, a resident of South City 2. Shirin, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the election commission's inadequacy, and said a number of her friends could not vote because of discrepancies in the voting list. "As a sizeable population is migrant, the authorities should make efforts to get their voter cards transferred," she added.