New Delhi:
Political mercury in Delhi is on the rise as campaigning for municipal polls turns hectic with senior leaders hitting the streets canvassing for party candidates.
2,400 candidates, a large chunk of them Independents, are in the fray for the April 15 polls for the three municipal bodies -- South, North and East.
The main contenders are BJP and Congress, the ruling and opposition block respectively in the current Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) but smaller parties like Samajwadi
Party and BSP are giving sleepless nights to them.
Though in public they make claims about clean sweep in the elections, leaders in Congress and BJP say in private that it is a keenly-contested polls and voters are keeping their
cards close to the chest.
"We can't say for sure that this is the trend. Voters are tight-lipped and we are doing everything too woo them. We are wary of the under-currents," a local BJP leader said, a view echoed by Congress leaders.
Congress and BJP have already come out with their manifestos promising improved civic infrastructure and a transparent administration.
Both the parties are also tense about the rebel presence in some of the wards, which they believe will affect their chances in some of the areas. They have also expelled a number of local leaders to send a strong message to their cadre.
As the campaign entered a hectic phase, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her cabinet colleagues, Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken and DPCC chief Jai Prakash Aggarwal
have hit the streets.
From the BJP side, almost all Delhi leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly V K Malhotra and Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta are on campaign trail.
Gupta has earned the wrath of a section of his partymen over denial of party tickets. There was also criticism from within the party about giving ticket to his wife Shobha to
fight elections.
Several of the sitting councillors, who were denied tickets by BJP and Congress, are accused of working behind the scenes to ensure the defeat of official party candidates.
The municipal polls, seen as a semifinal between BJP and Congress ahead of the Assembly polls next year, is also signigicant for Dikshit who had strongly pushed for trifurcation of the MCD despite stiff opposition from a section of the Congress as they had argued that splitting the civic body ahead of polls would badly affect the party.
Dikshit, who had restricted her campaigning to a few meetings in the run up to the 2007 civic polls, has already attended campaigns and instructed her Cabinet colleagues and
close associates to put all the hard work to regain power in the civic bodies.
2,400 candidates, a large chunk of them Independents, are in the fray for the April 15 polls for the three municipal bodies -- South, North and East.
The main contenders are BJP and Congress, the ruling and opposition block respectively in the current Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) but smaller parties like Samajwadi
Party and BSP are giving sleepless nights to them.
Though in public they make claims about clean sweep in the elections, leaders in Congress and BJP say in private that it is a keenly-contested polls and voters are keeping their
cards close to the chest.
"We can't say for sure that this is the trend. Voters are tight-lipped and we are doing everything too woo them. We are wary of the under-currents," a local BJP leader said, a view echoed by Congress leaders.
Congress and BJP have already come out with their manifestos promising improved civic infrastructure and a transparent administration.
Both the parties are also tense about the rebel presence in some of the wards, which they believe will affect their chances in some of the areas. They have also expelled a number of local leaders to send a strong message to their cadre.
As the campaign entered a hectic phase, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her cabinet colleagues, Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken and DPCC chief Jai Prakash Aggarwal
have hit the streets.
From the BJP side, almost all Delhi leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly V K Malhotra and Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta are on campaign trail.
Gupta has earned the wrath of a section of his partymen over denial of party tickets. There was also criticism from within the party about giving ticket to his wife Shobha to
fight elections.
Several of the sitting councillors, who were denied tickets by BJP and Congress, are accused of working behind the scenes to ensure the defeat of official party candidates.
The municipal polls, seen as a semifinal between BJP and Congress ahead of the Assembly polls next year, is also signigicant for Dikshit who had strongly pushed for trifurcation of the MCD despite stiff opposition from a section of the Congress as they had argued that splitting the civic body ahead of polls would badly affect the party.
Dikshit, who had restricted her campaigning to a few meetings in the run up to the 2007 civic polls, has already attended campaigns and instructed her Cabinet colleagues and
close associates to put all the hard work to regain power in the civic bodies.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
