Wielding the broom to clean the system

It is almost 10 o’clock and the morning is beginning to turn warm. MR Vasudeva, the 62-year-old Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, is just winding up his daily meeting with party workers.

After discussing a few more details, Vasudeva, sporting the party’s ‘topi’ and dressed in trousers and a white T-shirt with ‘fight against corruption’ in Kannada printed on the back, gets ready for his campaign.

With three party workers keeping him company, he reaches Bondel Circle, located 7 km from the city.

“You know the use of a broom. Now we are here to wield it to clean the system,” he says in Tulu to an elderly woman, as he tries to convince her to vote for him and his party. The woman’s interests are different. “Can you get the road repaired in my locality,” she asks in return.

Since the location happens to be the terminus for some city buses, the crew from some of the buses watch with a detached interest. Vasudeva approaches the bus drivers, conductors and passengers seeking their vote; he makes it a point to approach all trade establishments — petty shops, grocery stores, salons, jewellery shops.

Ex-airport director

From there, the team heads towards Bajpe, about 10 km away. The old terminal building of the Mangalore airport is situated close to the town. People recognise and associate Vasudeva with the airport, from where he retired as director two years ago.

On the way to Bajpe, Vasudeva tells Business Line that most of the time his team commutes by city bus or walk to reach out to the voters. “We don’t hire people for canvassing. These people come on their own as volunteers,” he says, adding that he had to send back a few college students as they had to prepare for their final examination.

Ask him why join politics and the AAP. All these years, he says, he was working in a framework. AAP approached him and asked him if he would contest from Mangalore.

He agreed because he was attracted by the party’s fight against corruption. During the padayatra in Bajpe town, he makes it a point to meet as many people as he can. Anil Kumar and Damodar, who work in an automobile workshop in Bajpe town, tell us they have seen Vasudeva’s determination in getting things done at the airport. They expect him to display the same determination for developing the district, too.

Another resident, Abdul Khader, wants to know what the party wants from him. All that Vasudeva would ask of him is to get more volunteers.

Now it is time for two young men to confront him with a question. They want to know why they should vote for him, as they remember seeing him at a programme organised by the NaMo Brigade in Mangalore.

Vasudeva explains to them that he was invited to that programme in his capacity as the President of the Mangalore Management Association.

“As a president of the association, I attended that programme. That does not mean that I am a follower of that organisation. You may or may not vote for me. However, it is my duty to clear your doubts on this,” he adds, and heads towards the next ‘aadmi’ in the Bajpe crowd.

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