Chance for Cong., BJP to test the waters

By B. K. Vittal

BANGALORE, APRIL 22. The battleline becoming clear after the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers on Saturday for the May 3 elections to the 148 urban local bodies, the ruling Congress and the principal Opposition party, the BJP, are ready for the acid test to determine how the political plane lies following the V. S. Koujalgi and Tehelka video episodes.

With the episodes hanging over their heads like the Damocles Sword, the Congress and the BJP are swimming against the current, unsure how the voters would react in the elections. This peculiar situation has resulted in only two parties with a ``clean image'' left in the field - the JD(U) and the JD(S).

Between the Congress and the BJP, the latter, however, appears to be better placed as the dissidence in the party on the eve of the elections is microscopic compared with the Congress, which is dogged by widespread dissidence starting from the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna's Maddur constituency. This explains the presence of nearly 1,000 rebel candidates in the field.

While the Congress is going alone in these elections, the BJP has an understanding with the Samata Party. In many wards, the JD(U) and the JD(S) have come together at the local level, unlike their leaders who continue to shun each other even while describing the development as a welcome sign for the ultimate merger of the two. There are municipalities such as the Muddebihal, Haliyal and Guledgud where the BJP and the JD(U) have reportedly formed a forum to put up independents with bright prospects of defeating the Congress.

The elections, being held on the direction of the High Court, are bereft of any major local issue. If at all there is an issue, it concerns the reservation of wards which the Opposition has described as arbitrary with many glaring cases reported from areas such as Gulbarga.

The BJP, while minimising dissidence in the party in Mysore, is confident of capturing the Mysore City Corporation and also Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation where the Congress is not even able to put up candidates for all the seats because of dissidence. In Mysore, the dissidence in the party had been resolved and it would try to capture the Corporation there, according to Mr. Aravind Limbavali, BJP general secretary.

Talking to TheHindu, however, Mr. Limbavali was moderate in assessing the party's chances in Gulbarga and Belgaum where, he said, the party would be in the Opposition. Efforts were on to capture as many municipalities as possible elsewhere in the State, he said.

The recent upward revision of power tariff, corruption in administration and the failure of the Government to fulfil, in general, the basic needs of the people along with the achievements of the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre would be highlighted by the party during its campaign, Mr. Limbavali said.

The party had placed senior leaders in charge of each district to ensure maximum efforts to see that the party's candidates are through, said Mr. Limbavali.

There are 3,722 wards in the first phase of elections. The number of aspirants is 13,731. The partywise break-up is: Congress (3,223), BJP (1,657), JD(U) (1,474), JD(S) (1,312), BSP (182), CPI(M) (27), CPI (49), NCP (three), and independents (5,803).

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Section  : Southern States
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