The Janata Dal (United) on Thursday released the fifth list of candidates for the high-stakes Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, with twelve names in the list.

The party’s national general secretary and Delhi unit in-charge Sanjay Jha said, “In every constituency, voters are openly expressing their anguish over the negative attitude of the authorities. Development has taken a backseat and the city has become a filth zone. People are now wholeheartedly expressing their support for JD (U) with a firm belief that the party will initiate change in the capital city.”

“Cleanliness is a major issue all over Delhi. We have to clean all the filth lying around. Garbage dumps have become sources of dreaded diseases like dengue, malaria and tuberculosis. Mostly the victims of these diseases are women and children. Unfortunately, nothing has been done to solve this problem by either the previous councillors or the State Government,” elaborated one of the contestants.

Similarly, a woman contestant remarked that “in her constituency girls feel very insecure. But, police haven’t done anything about it. In fact, they have shamelessly said girls must take responsibility of their own safety.”

“People in Delhi have heard about the transformation that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has brought about in the State. They are extremely confident that this time his good governance and development agenda would work in Delhi as well,” Jha remarked.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will also address two rallies during campaigning for the polls next month. The BJP has been ruling the MCD since 2007. The last polls were held in 2012.

The much-awaited polls will decide the fate of 272 councillors. While NDMC and SMDC have 104 seats each, EDMC has 64 seats.

The total number of electorate for the civic polls stands at 1,32,10,206, which include 73,15,915 men, 58,93,418 women and 793 voters in the other category, according to the State Election Commission.