In what is undoubtedly the first such instance, Meera Sanyal, executive vice-president and country head of ABN Amro Bank NA's Indian operations, has decided to take time off from her job to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

A company spokesperson said Sanyal, who will contest as an independent candidate, has taken leave till 15 May.

"I have decided to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from South Mumbai. I have been associated with community development programmes and policy reforms for a long time now and feel that I can bring about some positive changes in our system by participating in the election," Sanyal told  news agency PTI.

Sanyal has taken leave at a time when the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc is in the process of wholly taking over ABN Amro's Asian operations. The bank is selling its retail and small and medium enterprise banking unit in India and seven other Asian countries.

A spokesperson for the Royal Bank of Scotland said the bank would announce the interim management arrangement early next week. Madan Menon, managing director and country head in charge of wholesale, corporate and investment banking, is widely tipped to be acting CEO in Sanyal's absence.

Sanyal promised that a draft master plan for Mumbai city and a five-point agenda for development would be placed before the electorate within the next 48 hours. "My campaign will be focussed on Mumbai," she added.

She said she had not looked towards any political party as ''I found it difficult to align myself with their ideologies''. She said she was galvanised into action by the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, in which she lost a respected mentor.

''My focus will be on the city's infrastructure, particularly public transport, and a stronger security setup. Improving the standard of living of slum dwellers and including them in the city's overall development will also be my goal.

''Sixty years ago, the founding fathers all came from professional backgrounds but it is a real pity that things have changed now,'' added Sanyal.

Squeaky-clean campaign
Sanyal is not accepting any campaign contribution, and will also steer clear of any self-promotion through media ads or posters. Her entire campaign will be self-funded, and within the Election Commission's prescribed limit of Rs25 lakh. ''I am launching a people's campaign where their inputs will also be useful,'' she said.

The Insead-educated banker is pitted against political heavyweights like Milind Deora of the Congress, the sitting MP who is a Boston University graduate and the son of union petroleum minister Murli Deora, and Mohan Rawle of the Shiv Sena, who has been a member of Parliament since 1991 from the textile mills-dominated Mumbai South-Central constituency.

Under her self-imposed restraints, Sanyal's victory would indeed be a long shot, particularly as independents have always had a very poor showing in the South Mumbai constituency, never having won more than a minuscule percentage of the vote.

Undoubtedly this is Sanyal's home constituency - the 47-year-old banker was a student of the Convent of Jesus & Mary and Cathedral School and went on to Sydenham College. She lives on Malabar Hill, while her office is at Nariman Point.

But given her upper-class upbringing and background, it is difficult to visualise how she will communicate with the denizens of the slums that have proliferated in the area over the years. These form a key constituency of their own, and the experienced politicians know how to woo them.

Business Standard points out that while there are quite a few professionals-turned-parliamentarians, most of them have a political lineage. For instance, Jitin Prasada, the minister of state for steel, worked with DSP Merrill Lynch. Similarly, Wharton-educated Sachin Pilot worked for General Motors before winning elections from Dausa in Rajasthan, a constituency that was earlier represented by his father Rajesh Pilot.

Ajit Singh, whose father Charan Singh was a prime minister, worked for IBM, while Ajeya Singh, son of former prime minister V P Singh, who has worked for Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers, is contesting from Fatehpur on a Lok Janshakti Party ticket. Former Tisco (now Tata Steel) chairman Russi Mody too contested elections.