Mumbai: Defying the popular perception that highly-qualified professionals shy away from electoral politics, the upcoming BMC elections has several academically-accomplished candidates. Among them is a PhD graduate from IIT Bombay who served with the govt body CDAC and later as a professor at Pennsylvania State University, an MBA graduate from London Metropolitan University, and a candidate holding a doctoral degree in pharmaceutical technology from ICT Matunga. There is also a noticeable presence of double post-graduates and MBA professionals, reflecting a growing keenness among professionals to enter politics “to make a difference”.Urjaswala Vora (53) who bagged a doctoral degree in computer science from IITB and went on to teach at the US university for a few years, is contesting as an independent in Ward 66 (parts of Andheri West, Juhu Gully). “After working for over two decades at a govt organisation, I took voluntary retirement and went to the US to be with my children. I got an opportunity to teach in a university in Pennsylvania for over 3 years. Though I can resume, I wanted to return and serve people here in some way. I have seen the condition of civic schools and want to work for its betterment,” she said.Candidate Ganesh Awasthi (48) had contested in 2017 as a citizen candidate, and bagged 3,000 votes. This time, on a Congress ticket, he is hoping to make a mark in Ward 149 (Tilak Nagar, Pestom Sagar, Chheda Nagar). Awasthi was raised in a slum pocket in Chembur, studied in a BMC school, and went on to do his MBA from London Metropolitan University on a scholarship. He joined Barclays in the UK, but returned when his father was unwell. After his father’s demise, he followed in his footsteps and got into social work. “I understand local problems better than any candidate.” Sewree’s Pratik Kamble (37) is a double post-graduate —with a Masters in Social Work and MA in Political Science from Mumbai University. Parel’s Kamble is contesting from Sewree’s Ward 202 on a BSP ticket, positioning himself as a young face with long grassroots exposure and a “clean past” who also does farming in his Solapur village. He said his decision to contest is driven by the need for political leaders on the ground, not just public figures. Hetal Gala Morvekar, a BJP candidate from Mulund, who bagged a PhD from ICT, quit the pharma industry to join social work some time ago. She bagged a ticket from Ward 103 (Mulund) as the party looked at fielding an educated candidate. She said she is passionate about social work. Swati Borkar (29) from Shiv Sena (UBT) who did her MBA and MCom, is into social work. The contestant from Ward 16 (Borivli) said the election was a natural choice.Nearly a fourth of candidates are graduates, making them the largest educational group, according to affidavits. In contrast, the second-largest cohort is of school dropouts.
