In an attempt to regain control over the Shimla Municipal Corporation, the Congress party on Thursday posed a united face, when Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and State Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, campaigned together.
Both the leaders will also launch the vision document, prepared by the party for the development of the city, on Wednesday.
Just a fortnight after getting a strong message from the party high command to stop bickering and work together to ensure victory in Assembly elections. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had himself joined campaigning for party supported candidates on Monday, just a day before the campaigning ends. Singh and Sukhu were seen giving a common message to the voters.
Congress sources said Virbhadra Singh has taken upon himself the task of visiting all the 34 wards for ‘personalise’ campaigning. Singh and Sukhu campaigned in five municipal wards including Boilauganj, Totu and Chakkar. Congress spokesperson Naresh Chauhan said the party candidates had prepared separate agenda documents for their respective wards, but the party would release a detailed vision document for the development of Shimla.
As the Congress has already roped in the Chief Minister in campaigning, BJP too on Tuesday picked up the tone of its anti-Congress tirade, with Rajiv Bindal appealing people to bring BJP in Municipal Corporation, for steady development of the city.
Addressing a Press conference in Shimla, Bindal said it was the Congress, which had deprived Shimla from being a developed city as it was the party, which had ruled the Municipal Corporation for 32 years, barring the last five years, when CPM had won the direct elections for Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Bindal said BJP’s victory in the upcoming Assembly elections was sure, and if people brought BJP in Shimla MC, then a better co-ordination between MC and State Government would arise.
He said being a BJP-led Government, it would be better for BJP-led MC to get developmental plans got through.
Former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal gave a miss to the campaigning but is expected to join the campaign on Wednesday as it will be the last day for campaigning. BJP leaders including Bindal, Suresh Bhardwaj, Ravinder Ravi and Mahender Singh have already been campaigning in Shimla. Earlier, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda had run active campaign for BJP for Shimla Municipal Corporation.
While the ‘personalised’ campaigning by big leaders is considered to be a game changer in the civic body elections, experts say that the campaigning in the last two-three days particularly decides the fate of elections. Congress spokesperson Chauhan said that the campaigning by Virbhadra Singh and Congress Chief Sukhu would ensure victory of the party as the BJP had no base in the city. He said that BJP could not gain ground, when it was in power in the state in 2012, and this time, when Chief Minister had performed in an unprecedented manner, Congress victory was sure.
While BJP is contesting on all the 34 wards, Congress had announced its support to 28 candidates while the third major political outfit in state politics, CPM too is contesting MC elections in 28 wards.