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Durban - It’s the kind of scrap the Bengal Tiger himself, Amichand Rajbansi, would not have shied away from.
The Tiger’s widow, Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi, is fighting tooth and nail for the survival of the Minority Front (MF), the party her husband founded.
Thakur-Rajbansi on Thursday revealed to the Daily News details of the vexed question she was facing: what do you do when half of all your sitting councillors defect to other parties or start their own – despite their terms of office not ending?
She also shared a dossier she has compiled which appears to shows “traitors” – MF councillors on the stump, drumming up support for other parties.
This includes a councillor who maintains he is still an MF member, seen in a Facebook post with ANC provincial chairman, Sihle Zikalala.
As the city prepares to host its final full council meeting for the term on June 22, ahead of the August 3 municipal elections, Thakur-Rajbansi is scrambling to prevent all MF councillors who have not sworn loyalty to the party, from attending the meeting and getting paid their council salary.
It comes after former MF councillors, Patrick Pillay, Shireen Bhoola and Dheenadayalan Govender, formed their own parties, while Ganas Govender joined the DA.
Thakur-Rajbansi believes every other councillor, except Madanlall Dasrath, have joined other political parties and wants them prevented from taking up MF seats at the last full council meeting.
This past week, she has sent letters to city manager, S’bu Sithole, and Speaker Logie Naidoo, terminating the membership of those who have defected and joined other political parties, saying the MF constitution did not allow dual membership.
Thakur-Rajbansi said she was informed that three other MF councillors had joined other political parties.
She has sent Naidoo and Sithole newspaper clippings and Facebook posts of MF councillors either launching their new parties or campaigning and joining others.
Thakur-Rajbansi said she had given councillors claiming to be MF members until Monday to give sworn affidavits stating that their names did not appear on any IEC list for other parties, failing which she would terminate their membership.
MF spokesman, Jonathan Annipen, said the councillors who were kicked out would be replaced by Sunklavathy Rajbally and Verish Bhana. He would take the third spot.
“The MF is done with traitors and this will be the final victory for the MF when those who have abused us are ejected from the municipality after they sold the name of the MF to the highest bidder for selfish gain,” he said.
Naidoo said that after receiving the letters from Thakur-Rajbansi, he terminated the council membership of Pillay, Bhoola, Dheenadayalan Govender and Ganas Govender.
He said they would not be allowed to attend the last full council meeting and would not be paid a council salary from the date of their termination.
“The other people she alleges have joined other parties is a bit more difficult because there is no irrefutable proof. With those three, there is definite proof they have joined other parties because it has been in the media.”
Naidoo said two NFP councillors, Thabani Mtethwa, who joined the DA, and Muzonjani Zulu, who formed Academic Congress Union, had also had their council membership terminated.
Political analyst, Xolani Dube, founder of the Xubera Institute for Research and Development, described the MF internal battle as the last kick of a dying horse. “I think this is the end of the Minority Front. (Amichand) Rajbansi was the only person who could evoke the interest of his constituency.”