Poll Dancing and Potatoes
Well, if you take away someone's livelihood, you probably shouldn't be surprised if there is some political fallout. The state of Maharashtra in India, which includes Mumbai, closed hundreds of "dance bars" in a morality campaign in 2005. The former pole dancers are now performing poll dancing instead in an effort to get elected to the city council to force a reversal of the action.
Authorities in Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, closed down hundreds of dance bars in 2005 saying they corrupted young men and bred crime and prostitution.
The ban saw many of the estimated 75,000 bar girls go away to other states to find work and some reportedly turn to prostitution while many were left jobless.
"We have had enough of begging and pleading for our rights," Manjit Singh Sethi, president of the Mumbai Bar Owners' Association, told Reuters.
"Now we will try to find representation in the administration so that our concerns are addressed."
Sethi said former bar dancers would meet on Sunday to discuss whether they would fight as independent candidates or represent political parties.
"We also have the option of floating our own party," he said, adding that the dancers planned to contest at least 50 of the total 227 seats in Mumbai's municipal corporation vote on February 1.
We'd also suggest the poll dancers might want to take a hard look at political campaigns in Armenia for some pointers on garnering votes. For example, giving away potatoes.
Armenian politicians have been accused of buying votes in forthcoming elections with gifts of potatoes.
The allegations come after the Flourishing Armenia party led by Gagik Tsarukian, one of the richest men in the country, followed other parties by announcing it was giving the vegetables and medical supplies following a drought as acts of "charity".
Potato poll dancing may be a real winner. Pole dancing potatoes, not so much.
World news | Gaius Saturday, 6 January , 2007
By chrys, Saturday, 6 January , 2007 @ 1:55 pm
Poll Dancing? Hmmmm Happy Blogiversary!