Dear Editor,
I lend credence to the claims made by Mr Joe Persaud that ‘Joey Jagan, Alvin Kallicharran made the difference’ (SN, May 14) in giving the opposition coalition a narrow victory. As Mr Persaud stated, based on his informal poll, when the coalition was formed between APNU and the AFC in February, the Indian people opposed and rejected it. But with time, there was a gradual change in their position with many Indian voters being convinced by grass roots activists like Mr Persaud himself to return back to the AFC. Even the AFC leadership admitted that their supporters were opposed to the coalition initially. But the AFC worked the ground house to house to convince its supporters to give the alliance a chance, and minds were changed to support the coalition. The PPP did not have a similar set of volunteers from overseas to work the ground; the party alienated most of its overseas activists through the sheer arrogance of its leadership.
In addition to Joe Persaud, other volunteers from Canada and New York flew down to Guyana to campaign for the coalition in Indian communities, helping to erase their fears about the tie-up between APNU and the AFC. They did a commendable job and the coalition owes them a debt of gratitude; the ruling party did not have a corresponding set of credible individuals from the diaspora to campaign for it or to endorse it.
The endorsement of Alvin Kallicharran and Dr Joey (and of course Dr Tulsi from Texas) cannot be underestimated; they convinced people that it was okay to take the risk going for the coalition. The PPP dismissed their influence. The PPP forgot that ‘one one dutty build dam’; every endorsement helped the coalition. The wavering Indian voters must have felt at ease in making their final decision when these three prominent Indians and other respected individuals gave their blessing to the coalition.
Apparently the endorsements as well as the volunteerism of the diaspora among the Indians worked wonders, because it seems that the AFC retained its support. All the endorsement and the volunteers from the diaspora helped to make the difference in what seems to be a very close election.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
