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Chief minister Sukhu himself was a councillor in the Shimla municipal body in the early 1990s and the party is hoping to cash in on his connection with the voters. File pic/Facebook
With a win in the recently held assembly elections, the Congress can’t afford a setback in one of the oldest civic bodies in the country, said leaders
With less than a week left for the prestigious electoral battle to the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC), both the Congress and the BJP have turned it into a high-stakes contest with the former trying to maintain its winning streak after its success in the state assembly polls about five months back. The civic body will go to polls on May 2.
The stakes are so high for the Congress that chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is expected to hit the campaign trail for the polls to ensure that his party manages to oust the BJP from the civic body. This will be in addition to state Congress chief Pratibha Singh who has already thrown her weight behind the party’s campaign. Party sources said that the chief minister’s electioneering schedule is being worked out in such a manner that he covers almost all the 34 wards of Shimla.
Sukhu himself was a councillor in the Shimla municipal body in the early 1990s and the party is hoping to cash in on his connection with the voters. “He is not an outsider here. He was a councillor himself and knows every ward in the city. His joining the campaign will boost the confidence of the party cadre,” said a Congress leader.
Party leaders added that the campaign also will focus on nukkad sabhas to draw a connection with the voter. “Also, through these sabhas we will be able to highlight the failure of the BJP which is ruling the civic body,” said a senior party functionary.
With a win in the recently held assembly elections, the Congress can’t afford a setback in one of the oldest civic bodies in the country. “The Shimla municipal areas take care of three assembly segments. Two of the MLAs from here are ministers. Hence, a lot is at stake for the party. A defeat just after a victory in assembly polls will not reflect well on the party,” admitted a senior leader.
Congress campaign committee chairman and education minister Rohit Thakur has asked all leaders to join the campaign.
“All ministers, chief parliamentary secretaries, and MLAs have been given the important election-related responsibilities,” said Thakur, adding that election information centres will be formed in each ward for better communication between office-bearers and workers.
Looking to return to power in the Shimla Municipal Corporation after a gap of 10 years, the Congress has made 14 promises to the voters in its manifesto that was released on Tuesday. The promises include making Shimla clean, green and organised, uninterrupted and clean water supply, parks and parking, steps to control drug menace, ambulance roads to all wards, wellness centres, indoor stadiums, houses for the urban poor, strengthening education and libraries, etc.
But BJP’s chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma trashed the Congress manifesto claiming the party had not honoured the 10 guarantees it had made to people last year.
Union Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur will campaign for the BJP on Thursday.
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