Even as campaigning has ended for the UlB polls which are going to be held on September 19, it is expected that the Congress and the BJD will have a straight fight in the Jagatsinghpur Municipality in a few wards. The BJP does not seem to have galvanised its position and is likely to be in the third position. Be that as it may, the minority and floating votes are going to play a vital role in winning the elections for any party.
Earlier, though a strong anti-incumbency factor was working against the BJD, yet the Congress seemed to have failed in capitalizing it and after the end of the campaigning, it looks the support base for the BJD has grown stronger and the party may retain the municipality for the third time in a row.
As the poll campaign gained momentum here, it was felt the ruling BJD would cut a sorry figure and perform miserably. There was much hullaballoo about its corruption and misrule, but in the end, the strong anti-incumbency wave fizzled out.
Reliable sources said, out of the 21 wards in the municipality, while the position of Congress is better in seven wards, the BJD’s better in nine. In the rest five wards, there would be a keen contest between the two rivals.
As per an estimate, of 23, 485 voters in the municipality, there are at least 4,000 floating voters and 3,700 minority [Muslim] voters. These electorates are supposed to play a decisive role with regard to winning the polls.
The floating voters include employees and their family members from the State and Central Governments, bank, insurance, police, public undertaking companies, traders, businessmen, slum dwellers and street vendors etc.
They are usually treated as cautious voters who are fully aware of the political developments and the civic problems in past years. Their votes in the elections are crucial and decisive. As a result, each contesting candidate is seeking their support.
Similarly, as far as minority votes are concerned, there are at least six wards where Muslim residents have a dominating presence including ward 1, 10, 4, 8, 17 and 7. Both Congress and BJD are trying hard to woo these electorates. In last municipality polls, the Congress had bagged four wards and BJD candidates had won in two wards.
Notably, the Congress always claims that minority votes generally go to it given its secular credentials. Star campaigner of Congress Chiranjeev Biswal, who is spearheading the Congress electioneering process here, was confident that the party candidates would perform better in the minority dominating areas.
On the reverse, the BJD leaders too claim that the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s image and pro-minority stance would count. “The party has maintained its secular record after leaving BJP in 2009. So minority votes will go in favour of the BJD in the municipality elections,” stated MlA and BJD district president Bishnu Das.
Das also exuded confidence that the floating voters too will throw their weight behind the BJD because of the ruling party’s priorities on development.