National parties Congress and BJP are trying their best to put up a good show in the civic elections in Jammu region. BJP is confronted with rebel candidates as they are adding to their worries including their “non-performance” while in power in coalition with PDP.
Reports said that BJP candidates are facing their own rebels in all the 37 civic bodies besides Congress, making things difficult for the party in the region. Recently, BJP expelled 15 leaders who have jumped into the fray as rebels in the different wards of Jammu Municipal Corporation. BJP is mulling to expel more such members across the region.
State BJP president Ravinder Raina claimed that his party will sweep the civic body elections in the entire State. He pointed out that BJP has already won many seats unopposed in South Kashmir as no candidate filed nomination for those particular seats.
State Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir told The Sunday Guardian that they have worked very hard in Jammu region and claimed that the rebel candidates of BJP have made their job easier to win these elections. With National Conference and PDP not in the fray, he claimed that they have bright chances in Kashmir valley also. He claimed that BJP has no base in Kashmir and they have transported candidates to South Kashmir to win some seats unopposed.
In the first phase of Urban Local Bodies election on October 8, 238 municipal wards will go to polls. There have been road shows, door-to-door campaigns and public meetings in Jammu region by all the political parties especially by the independent candidates.
While there is no poll activity in Kashmir valley, Jammu region has lot of aggressive campaigns going on in all the areas as the candidates were trying to get the support of people to get elected for the civic bodies. Unlike Kashmir, there are over 1,200 candidates in the fray for the 422 wards in Jammu region in the first phase of the elections, said the State Election Department.
It is ironic that instead of focusing on their performance while in power in the state, BJP is banking on “Modi magic” to win even the civic elections. In most of their public meetings, they have been asking people to vote for Modi’s party.
KILLINGS IMPACT
The killing of two National Conference workers in Karfali Mohalla locality of the city has forced all the activists and civic poll candidates to go into the security cover. It has impacted the poll campaign in the city as many independent candidates were trying to go door-to-door in some localities to solicit votes.
There have been some attacks by patrol bombs on the houses of some independent candidates in the city in the past few days and most of such candidates have left their localities and are living in the hotel rooms given to them by the police.
Many independent candidates in the past two days have decided to pull out from the contest. Official sources confirmed that about a dozen them have decided to pull out.