DAWOOD AULEEAR
Telling you half what you know is part of this exercise. The 8th November winner was in dire straits. In the Hindu Belt, attendance at the rival’s meeting was swelling. Paul Bérenger seemed to have won over the hearts of the lost sheep at Bar Chacha and was talking of surprise when the ballot boxes would be opened.
It is in these difficult times that one measures the rallying qualities of a leader. Pravind Jugnauth proved to be one to fight an uphill battle. He appealed to socio-cultural organisations. What magic proposals he made to them were a well-kept secret to the general public.
Some of his interlocutors are unanimous that Pravind is a good listener, affable, reliable and frank. He is quite straight and doesn’t make false promises. Added to his personal qualities, he has a track record of making this country a construction site and to have kept his promise to increase the old age pension.
In contrast to his opponents, he refused to endorse some hopefuls for the elections but kept their loyalty and their support during the campaign.
He succeeded brilliantly in winning over hearts of people who were traditionally opposing his father. His style helped him beat three consummate leaders by drawing support from the nine traditional not very MSM-friendly urban regions. He has even maintained his niche in the MMM heartland of Stanley/Rose-Hill, that of PMSD in Curepipe and finally that of Labour in Triolet.
Leaders need to copy some relevant pages from Pravind’s campaign book if they want to face future elections with confidence and win the support both of the rural and urban electorate.