Xerxes wins Bombay Parsi Punchayet polls to become new trustee

Voters line up at the Rustom Baug polling centre to select the new BPP trustee, won by Xerxes Vispi Dastur. Pics/Sameer Markande

After eight hours of voting on Sunday, that saw a marginally higher turnout than the last Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) elections, Xerxes Dastur won the polls to replace Munchi Cama as trustee on the seven-member BPP board.

Xerxes Vispi Dastur

Dastur also beat Anahita Desai, the favourite to win the election, by exactly 89 votes. Current BPP President Yezdi Desai, who voted at Rustom Baug with wife and candidate Anahita, described Dastur's win as 'surprising'. Parsis throughout the city visited the five voting centres to cast their ballot from 10 am to 6 pm. While most centres saw a major turnout in the morning, there was slight slump in the afternoon.

Things picked up in the closing hours, after which the total voter turnout stood at 6,016, an improvement from 2016, when 5,101 votes were cast. However, not everything progressed smoothly throughout the day. In Cusrow Baug, the voting machine reportedly malfunctioned in the opening hour itself. In order to make up for the 50 minutes spent fixing it, the voting time was extended till 6.50 pm.

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