Dehradun: A day after the Urban Local Bodies’ (ULB) Polls, all eyes are now on the election results because this battle will prove to be a new turn in the future politics of both the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress in the state. The counting of votes will take place on Saturday.
While the BJP hopes to keep its urban vote-bank intact, the opposition Congress has targeted to make a dent into the BJP’s bastion. The report about 66 per cent polling in the Urban Local Bodies’ elections has kept both the camps- the BJP and the Congress- on tenterhooks.
A political test for the state organizations of both the BJP and the Congress
Apart from the prominent leaders of both the camps- the BJP and the Congress, the ULB elections are a test for their state organizations. BJP has contested for various posts, including mayoral, in 93 local bodies. To maintain the dominance of the BJP in the urban local bodies, chief Pushkar Singh Dhami took charge of the election campaign. Apart from him, all ministers, the party MLAs, all five MPs, and the state’s senior BJP leaders aggressively campaigned in the ULB elections.
Poll results are politically significant for six ministers
The poll results are also politically important for the six ministers of the Pushkar Singh Dhami government in their constituencies concerned. The state’s urban development minister Premchand Agrawal has put his all strength to ensure the victory of the BJP’s candidate Shambhu Paswan for the mayoral posts of Rishikesh Municipal Corporations. Agrawal represents the Rishikesh assembly seat in the state assembly. Like the minister Premchad, other ministers five ministers- Subodh Uniyal, Satpal Maharaj, Ganesh Joshi, Dhan Singh Rawat, and Saurabh Bahuguna, have also campaigned in their constituencies concerned to woo voters in favour of the BJP candidates in the ULB polls.
Opposition Congress banks on anti-incumbency factor
On the contrary, the opposition Congress has left no stone unturned to develop the local problems like poor plight of the cities, bad roads due to digging at various places, and incomplete arrangement of drinking water and sewerage as potential poll issues to corner the ruling BJP in these elections. The results will reflect if Congress is successful in creating an anti-incumbency wave against the BJP in ULB polls. The poll results will also show the Congress party’s potential to convert its poll strategies into a reality.
Congress fielded its candidates for main posts of 90 ULB
Congress party has fielded its candidates for the main posts of the 90 local bodies across the state. The party’s candidates are in the fray for the mayoral posts in all the 11 Municipal Corporations. The Congress relied upon the anti-incumbency factor till the last moment of the election campaign in the ULB polls.
