Bengaluru: The lexicon of good old Indian politics suggests that one has to cross sixty to be described as a senior politician. In that sense, she is too young to dominate the political discourse here.
But when Kannada dailies carried cover-page advertisements last week on the arrival of All India Mahila Empowerment Party (MEP) in Karnataka, not only politicians, even common people turned inquisitive about Nowhera Shaik, founder and national president of this relatively new party. The 45-year old business magnate from Hyderabad who wants to become big in politics is aspiring to field candidates in all 224 seats.
Kannadiga businessman Vijay Mallya who too tried his hand in the 2004 assembly polls, obviously did not show some of the skills Ms Shaik displayed. Sitting at the business centre of a seven-star hotel, perhaps engaged to run the party’s activities, she talked to Deccan Chronicle and came out with lucid thoughts laced with strong logic which would impress anyone. In an unwavering voice, she replied to the most uncomfortable questions. But when the answers came, her persuasive power dominated the conversation. Here are excerpts.
You met Sushma Swaraj and other BJP leaders. Do you want to divide secular votes to help the BJP?
As a business woman, I keep meeting leaders from all political parties including the Congress. That does not mean I am here to help the BJP. Let me give you some information. I registered my political party in February 2014 even before Narendra Modi became PM. Therefore, that question does not hold good.
Many parties established by local politicians have failed to make a dent in Karnataka. How can you make an impact?
What did Arvind Kejriwal do? He defied conventional wisdom and won the Delhi assembly elections. I think Insha Allah I will want to do it here.
All the political parties got agencies to do surveys. Have you done anything?
Yes, we have an army of people deployed across Karnataka. We will dominate in 150 seats.
To repeat my question, will you divide secular votes?
If Congress or JD (S) loses their secular vote only because we are in the fray, that shows their secular credentials are skewed and not genuine.
Has the Congress reached out to you to neutralise you?
Yes. They tried to tell me that our entry will divide secular votes. So, they asked us to be neutral. We told them we will contest all 224 seats. No compromise on that.
Your party name has woman(Mahila) in it. How can you seek votes of others?
A woman has a brother, father and son. So, if a lady comes to us, her father and other men in the family will come.
Have you set any condition for ticket seekers?
Yes. They have to announce they are interested to join us. They have to enlist 10,000 members and once elected, they have to pledge three hours for the public. If they agree, we will consider them.
