10 August,2021 08:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
Some of the UCF Conclave participants
The United Christian Front (UCF), which started in January 2021 with the aim of pushing Christian participation and representation in politics, held a conclave at a Vile Parle hotel on Sunday.
UCF Convenor, Mumbai advocate Alexander D'Souza said, "We were approximately 40 persons from different streams who gathered, to take stock of the past couple of months, but more importantly, chart out a roadmap for Christians to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in early 2022. I had a powerpoint presentation and one of the highlights was our meeting with a Congress minister. We have asked him for 10 tickets for Christian candidates in the BMC elections. Credibility of course, is key and things are at the working out stage." The convenor added that UCF, "will support eligible independent candidates if they fit the bill. We will help in campaigning and can look at partial funding in the run-up."
Advocate Alexander D'Souza
For Morris Kinny, from Manori, who was at the meet and whose daughter Steffie M Kinny was a former corporator from Malad, "it is still about changing the politics is a dirty game mindset, prevalent in the community. I tell people, if you do not get into politics, how do you know it is a dirty game, or what kind of game it is? The UCF was formed for a reason and now there is a push to see that intent transforms to action and we begin by having representation in the locality."
Darryl D'Souza, Mumbai president of the Maharashtra Minority Christian Development Council (MMCDC), claimed politically, the community has been, "neglected, overlooked or sidelined for long." When told though that nobody had stopped the community from getting into politics, the MMCDC president said that getting into politics was the intention now, "as we have to be in the system to have a voice. Just like every brick is important when one makes a structure like a building, every brick is important in the formation of a city, a country. We plan to be that brick now." He added that the community had, "the sons of the soil, who have given their lands, or had them taken away, on which airports and highways have been built. We are the fabric of Mumbai too, now we need representation and we will tell every party to consider us, and not keep us away."
For Raphael D'Souza, conclave attendee and president of the Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS), "this is the need of the hour. Political parties are analyzing the candidates, seeing what will work for them. We are focusing on all political parties. When you talk about municipal elections and corporators, remember the corporator is the people's first point of contact in the administration. The person has to be judged and elected through his work and how accessible he is to the people."
Joe Dias, founder Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) concurred that the corporator post is about civic work, responding to problems in the area, rather than political parties, ideologies and affiliations. "Unfortunately, though this post has become very politicized, we do not have a choice and have to be in the system to make a difference, present alternatives to the people," finished Dias summing up the seminal points of the meet which were: asking for tickets for various deserving Christian community persons to contest BMC elections and supporting independent, individual candidates from the community, who have proved themselves through their track record. Next stop for UCF, is a conclave in Manori, where there will be a look back on whether the Vile Parle meet goals have been met, and outlining next steps for the high- profile mission municipal polls.
