Minority Front heading for Gauteng
Party plans to field three candidates
TWENTY years after the Minority Front was formed, the party will for the first time contest the Gauteng elections — having secured three party representatives in the province.
MF leader Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi announced recently that “by popular demand” the party decided to extend its constituency to Gauteng to offer voters more options in the upcoming elections.
Johannesburg author and entertainment manager Kishore Badal will lead the trio, who also comprise Judy Poonsamy and Shanielle Moodley.
Badal, 54, of Lenasia South, said he was looking forward to the challenge and ensuring that the party grew to become a “force to be reckoned with”.
“I have worked in the community since 1974 and have been politically active since I was 15. Over the years, I have served as a volunteer member of the ANC and DA,” he said.
“In February, I was approached by the MF to join the party and consider being a parliamentary candidate. I was attracted to the party’s policies and I am looking forward to building the MF footprint in Gauteng.”
Although the party targeted Indian voters, he said, it appealed to all races.
He has already identified burning issues in the community that he plans to address in the coming months. High on the list are drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment, crime, youth and senior citizen’s issues.
“The MF has earned a good reputation in KwaZuluNatal for the work it has been doing — we want to earn the same acknowledgement in Gauteng through hard work and dedication,” he said.
Thakur-Rajbansi said her late husband, MF founder Amichand Rajbansi, had planned to branch out into Gauteng in 2009 — but the party had not been ready to contest elections outside KwaZulu-Natal.
“We received calls from people in Springs and Lenasia … People are fed up and want change,” she said.