MARGAO: A Rotarian and an active member of the Indian Medical Association, Dr Babita Angle, tipped to be the next chairperson of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) is also an avid trekker and rock climber, and is about to face one of her toughest ascents. An outsider to the active political circle, Dr Babita admits that before this election, the thought of contesting elections had never crossed her mind as she felt it wasn’t her ‘cup of tea’.
For Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, Dr Babita turned out to be his trump card – a new face, a doctor and with others like Glen Andrade added a different dimension and element of surprise to the expected lot of candidates. “I was elected by people like Dr Babita from professional backgrounds and thus I considered it my duty to bring these people and use their expertise to plan the vision for Fatorda and Margao,” said Sardesai.
Dr Babita said she was returning from a medical conference when she decided to file her nomination and contest the election and that though she has won, it is yet to sink in that she has now moved from the citizen side of the fence to the other as a councillor.
She believes that Fatorda and Margao can have a change and her ideas, while focusing on providing basic amenities, go beyond and she is thinking about making the town a cultural hub and ‘creating a social fabric that reaches out and connects with the youth’.
Speaking about the major influences on her life, Dr Babita said it helps to look at what is happening in the world as there are developments that can be replicated at home and to understand the process and goals of such ideas.
More importantly, she referred to her love for trekking and gives the example of how one truly realises the value of one self and when one is standing in the hills with nothing but nature all around and that it teaches you a lot of life lessons in solitude.
A former state badminton champion in her youth, Dr Babita says self confidence, teamwork, determination and discipline are what you learn in sports or trekking and she plans to bring this to the municipal council.
She identifies with Sardesai who she points is also well travelled and ‘a go-getter’. She said she was convinced to take part in the Fatorda Forward campaign after observing his hands on approach through the Sunday dialogues programmes and his zeal and enthusiasm.
Dr Babita also said it was not a cakewalk as she is a newcomer to the field of politics and it took time for the people of her ward to accept her, but she is elated that they have voted for her and as part of the Fatorda Forward campaign, plans to hold meetings with her voters at the Fatorda office along with her neighbouring councillors.
She said that she wants to start small and look at solving the basic issues and would also look at pressing the municipality as a whole to tackle other major issues affecting the city and as promised in the manifesto.
While Dr Babita was the strong face of Sardesai’s Fatorda Forward, she politely declined any conversation regarding speculation about the next chairperson’s slot that has been reserved for women and says that she is only concentrating on delivering to the public.
