Delhi-born candidate Ghulati in the fray in London Mayor polls
As London goes to the polls on Thursday to elect a Mayor, Delhi-born Tarun Ghulati is among the 13 candidates for voters to choose from. Mr. Ghulati, an investment banker and strategic advisor, is running as an independent to “encourage the free ¬ow of ideas and policies without party ideology and bias”.
“People don’t know whether to heat or eat,” Mr. Ghulati told The Hindu on the eve of the election, describing the cost of living crisis. He hopes to bring his nance background to create funds for London.
As part of his plan, Mr. Ghulati said he would want more “bobbies (police) on the beat” . “But of the right kind,” he adds, meaning they should come from diverse backgrounds to understand the cultural nuances of the communities they police.
Not unlike the Conservative candidate Susan Hall, he wants more localised policing, by increasing the number of police booths in the city.
Like other candidates, Mr. Ghulati’s formula for making housing more affordable in London includes rent-control laws in areas undergoing gentri cation and changing landuse regulations. He also wants to reduce the amount of congestion charges paid by car drivers using London roads.
“You don’t need politicians who blurred the vision
for London and have failed London, “Mr. Ghulati said, when asked if London was read for a foreignborn Mayor.
“I speak several languages and and understand the cultural sensitivity of people,” Mr. Ghulati said adding that his Indian upbringing taught him to believe in the notion of the world as one family, which
he described as ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, a Sanskrit phrase also used by the Modi government in its foreign policy references.
Emphasizing that he was committed to all cultures and communities, Mr. Ghulati voiced his support for civilians in Gaza during his call with The Hindu, describing the bombarding of Gaza as “carnage and genocide”.
“I’ve been asking the leaders to go o to the Rafah crossing or Gaza and see the bodies and the mass graves, just as they went to Ukraine,” he said. The Israel-Palestine issue has become a point of tension in London, with nearweekly protests and counter-protests, as in many other world capitals.