The ruling party has taken the civic poll as a prestige issue
Information minister Roshan Baig, former Union minister K. Rahman Khan and former minister C.M. Ibrahim at a Congress party meeting convened in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Bengaluru: Forced to face BBMP polls following the Supreme Court’s refusal to grant further extension of time, the ruling party has taken the civic poll as a prestige issue and has fixed a target of winning 110 seats in BBMP.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has instructed its leaders and workers to seize power in BBMP by winning at least 110 seats. Senior leaders including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC President Dr G. Parameshwar told party leaders on Saturday that the Congress must win 110 seats of the almost 200 seats up for grabs.
The leaders have evolved a strategy to win more seats with an aggressive campaign and involve all senior leaders in the campaign. The Chief Minister and KPCC president told senior ministers to take responsibility for each Assembly constituency in the city. The KPCC has entrusted five ministers the responsibility of the polls. These ministers will co-ordinate with party MLAs and PCC office-bearers of Bengaluru city.
During an hour-long meeting at the KPCC office, party leaders stressed on the need to win the polls. A victory will send a strong message to opposition parties and those criticising pro-people policies of the state government, they said.
A senior Congress leader who participated in the meeting told Deccan Chronicle that all senior leaders assured the co-operation of the party to win the elections. They gave tips to the party president on how to counter the combined opposition charges during the campaign, he said.
Former Chief Minister Dharam Singh, senior leaders B.K. Hariprasad, Margaret Alva and Taradevi Siddaratha advised the KPCC top brass to expose the ‘unholy’ alliance between JD(S) and BJP during the poll campaign. Since both parties have struck a tacit understanding to defeat the Congress, the party should explain their ‘double talk’ to the minorities, backward classes and SC/ST voters. Even the Chief Minister has stressed on the need to expose the JD(S) for joining hands with the ‘communal’ BJP both inside and outside the state legislature.
BJP wakes up, starts poll preparations:
Confident of coming back to power in the BBMP, the BJP has started poll preparations and has appointed various election committees. Senior BJP leader R. Ashok claimed that many surveys have indicated that the party will come back to power. The ‘misdeeds’ of the Congress government in the state in the last two-and-a-half years will help the party seize power in the city civic body, he said.
The party has conducted meetings of mandal presidents, general secretaries and booth workers. After conducting election committee meetings, the first list of candidates will be released on August 4, said BJP state president Pralhad Joshi. Addressing media persons here on Sunday, he said the party has constituted various committees to make poll preparations.
“We have already conducted two to three rounds of meetings,” he said. Dismissing media reports on the BJP’s tacit understanding with JD(S) for the BBMP polls, Mr Joshi said that the party will not enter into a poll alliance with JD(S) and will fight the polls on its own in all 198 wards. “Party candidates will file nominations from August 5 onwards. In the previous election, we had won 112 seats, we will do better this time,” he said.
The party manifesto for Bengaluru development will be released on August 11. A committee headed by former minister S. Suresh Kumar and legislator Ashwathnarayana is preparing the manifesto for the city, Mr. Ashok said. He criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for not carrying out any developmental work in the last two and a half years.
JD(S) makes clean bbmp governance priority:
Accusing both national parties - Congress and BJP - of maladministration in the state and in BBMP, the JD(S) is planning to make ‘Clean BBMP Governance’ its agenda for the forthcoming polls. On August 6, JD(S) will hold a party rally at National College grounds where the first list of candidates will be announced.
Addressing a party rally at Kengeri on Sunday, state president H.D. Kumaraswamy said that he would be administering an oath promising clean administration to party candidates. “We will seek the resignation of JD(S) corporators against whom corruption and maladministration charges are made by the public. The JD(S) is also offering sops to city voters, we have plans to waive property tax for people living in houses with dimensions below 30X40,” he said.
“Both Congress and BJP have proved their administrative inability in the state and in BBMP. Mr Siddaramaiah has raised a Rs 40,000 crore loan for the state, but we do not know for what reason. Put together, the BJP and Congress have raised over Rs one lakh crore, which would be a burden on tax payers. The money is not used for pro-people schemes. The two parties are looting this money in the name of the people,” he said.
Stating that BBMP had become a cesspool of corruption, he said: “JD(S), when it was ruling BBMP had created a road map for development of Bengaluru, but it was derailed by subsequent ruling parties,” he added.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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