NRIs from U.S., Canada, Australia played role in Indian political party victory

Edmonton/New Delhi — Madhu Narasiah, 35, left his well-paying job as a software engineer in Boston, U.S. and came to India to volunteer for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nearly two months ago. Today, he’s happy that he and dozens of NRIs who came to work as volunteers, were able to contribute in ensuring the new party made a mark in Indian politics.

“I have been a volunteer since India Against Corruption (IAC) days and was really enthused with IAC taking a political turn… I felt we may not get another opportunity to bring this change,” Madhu told TNP.

He visited many constituencies and spoke to people about the party that was formed a year ago and how it could usher in a change in the polity of the country.

Narasiah, however, is not the only one. Over 50 NRIs came to Delhi to ensure that AAP was able to give a tough fight to the Congress.

AAP surprised many when it secured 28 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly when the results were announced Sunday.

Its founder Arvind Kejriwal defeated incumbent Delhi Chief Minister by a record margin of more than 25,000 votes from the New Delhi constituency.

An elated Narasiah, who is originally from Tamil Nadu, said: “It was the only opportunity we had to bring a change in the country’s political system. And we are happy today.”

Many NRIs also collected funds for the campaign.

“There are many NRIs who came to India to volunteer, and then there were hundreds abroad who helped the movement and the party in several ways,” an AAP member, who did not want to be named, told TNP.

Apart from NRIs from the U.S. and Britain, there were also some from Australia, Singapore, UAE and Canada.

Brad Mishra, a 45-year-old corporate executive from Sydney, Australia, came all the way to volunteer.

He took a break from his job and left his family to volunteer for the party that fought on the principles of ending graft and providing clean governance.

“This is the first time such a huge mass is coming together. There is a hope that change may start from New Delhi and spread all over the country,” said Mishra, who actively campaigned in the New Delhi constituency from where Kejriwal defeated three-time chief minister Dikshit.

Jaiant Misra,77, from U.K. said he came to work as a volunteer because he wanted to hear the voice of Indian youth.

“I wanted to talk to the youth, the women, the entrepreneurs… and to go to the rural areas and work,” said Misra.

Mr. Misra assisted the campaigning in seven constituencies in the national capital that voted Dec. 4.

These NRI volunteers also started a campaign to adopt constituencies.

“Constituencies were adopted and we raised resources for the campaign,” said Mishra. The aim, Mishra said, was to provide basic amenities, like healthcare, in these constituencies.
An AAP member said the party got nearly $1 million in donations from NRIs.

“The details of all donations are on our website, each NRI declared he has an Indian passport and a copy of passport is also uploaded,” the AAP member told TNP.

With his work over, Narasiah now wants to go to Bangalore and spend some time with his family before flying back to the U.S.

Mishra, however, wants to continue his work.

“I will go to my home state in Odisha and strengthen AAP’s network there,” he added.

“I also plan to establish an academy for training political and social aspirants,” said Mishra, who plans to return to Australia in April next year.

China Southern airline in plan to back stake in Qantas

China Southern 

Guangzhou -THE biggest airline in Asia, state-owned China Southern, held detailed discussions last year to bankroll a group of wealthy investors - including former Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, adman John Singleton and retail king Gerry Harvey - to buy a cornerstone shareholding in the national carrier.

The Weekend Australian understands the powerhouse Asian carrier was introduced to the consortium by billionaire trucking magnate Lindsay Fox and that Mr Dixon held discussions with China Southern chairman Si Xianmin, encouraging the Chinese to provide financial backing for the syndicate, which had acquired a stake of about 2 per cent in Qantas.

While some sources said a draft agreement was reached under which China Southern was prepared to bankroll the consortium to take an initial stake of 19.9 per cent in Qantas, which could eventually rise to 25 per cent, others say the discussions never got to that stage.

The ginger group, which included former Qantas chief financial officer Peter Gregg and venture capitalist Mark Carnegie and was planning to agitate for strategic change at the airline, is believed to have grown impatient waiting for a firm commitment from the Chinese and quietly sold their 2 per cent stake in Qantas in January this year for an estimated $18 million profit.

Qantas signed a code-share deal this week with China Southern, which the Australian carrier believes will drive increased Chinese tourism and cement its presence in the world's second-biggest economy. While China Southern president Tan Wangeng said this week the airline had "no plan as such" to invest in Qantas, there is speculation this may change if the government repealed the Qantas Sale Act.

Under the act, foreign investment in the national carrier is capped at 49 per cent; total ownership by foreign airlines is limited to 35 per cent; and by a single foreign investor to 25 per cent.

Any such move by China Southern would present a fresh dilemma for the government after it knocked back global agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland's $3 billion bid for Graincorp.

Tony Abbott said yesterday he might consider allowing foreign companies to take a bigger stake in Qantas. While the Prime Minister preferred to see the company kept in majority Australian hands, he would be happy to look at changes to the Qantas Sale Act if there were no cost to taxpayers.

On Thursday, Qantas shares experienced their biggest one-day fall in 18 months after the airline announced it would lose as much as $300m in the first half of the financial year and slash 1000 jobs over the next 12 months.

Chief executive Alan Joyce revealed that the airline would also consider a radical restructure of its operations, which could include partial sales of its frequent-flyer or Jetstar budget airline operations.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the airline's investment-grade credit rating yesterday to junk status, a move that will increase its borrowing costs and means some institutions may not be able to hold its debt.

Qantas moved to reassure travel agents and passengers that this week's savage profit downgrade would not affect its operations.

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