Mayank Gandhi

Mayank Gandhi is a social activist from India. He was previously a member of the core committee in the India Against Corruption movement, and a National Executive member of the Aam Aadmi Party.

His education qualification is of Engineering and Management from Mumbai. Mayank Gandhi has a longstanding activism experience.^[1] Gandhi presently is presently involved in Fulora Foundation to bring a change in water solutions of Beed district of Maharashtra which are victims of bad rains.^[2] India Leadership Conclave founded by Satya Brahma recognized the efforts of Gandhi & the jury of Network 7 Media Group awarded Fulora Foundation as Best Social Enterprise award in July 2016 in Mumbai.^[3]

Activism and political career

He was involved with the Lok Satta and to the movement for around two years from 2005-2006, then left it in 2007 because of what he termed "petty internal politics, which I didn't like."^[4] He campaigned on behalf of Hansel D’Souza in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, as founder and leader of Jagruk Nagrik Manch (JNM), the organisation that had nominated D'Souza for the contest.^[5] JNM had been created as a Mumbai citizens' voluntary organisation in 2008 with the intent of making the political system more accountable and it had among its supporters various non-governmental organisations (NGO) as well as Lok Satta. Gandhi said at that time that the usual responses by concerned groups to challenging situations, such as lists of demands, were "knee-jerk reactions. We need a sustained movement for a better system and work on political intervention, if need be."^[6]

Around 2011, he became a part of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement and a member of its 24-person "core committee", which was officially the full extent of the movement in a formal organisational sense. JNM then became embroiled in a row with other IAC activists after being perceived to let down the movement by failing properly to organise a fast in Mumbai that was being undertaken by Anna Hazare as part of the 2011 anti-corruption protests. There were claims that Gandhi's role included being an intermediary between JNM and IAC.^[7] As had happened in 2007, Gandhi found himself unable to continue just as the movement was evolving into a political party. In this instance, his decision was because of allegations of tax evasion that had been laid against him by a colleague in the IAC, Viren Shah. He said that he could not understand the basis of the allegations and that Shah had not responded to his requests for more information.^[4]

Gandhi was once secretary of the Remaking of Mumbai Federation (RoMF) and continues as an independent consultant for strategic planning of infrastructure projects. He was a member of the advisory group of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat between 2007-2013 and has been officially representing India in that organisation since 2010.^[8]

Gandhi served as a member of the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi Party until 2015. He also served as the party's head in Maharashtra,^[9] before his unit was disbanded by Aam Admi Party because of differences with the party chief Arvind Kejriwal.^[10][11]

Gandhi accused Kejriwal of deviating from the path of honest politics, and of "using and throwing" party volunteers.^[12][13] In 2015, he resigned from the party's National Executive, stating that he had been losing interest in politics.^[14]

References