Tag Archives: civic polls 2022

Campaigning for MCD polls end, interesting to watch who wins

Stage has been set… All the preparations are complete… If you are still wandering what I am talking about… I am referring to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls scheduled to take place on December 4, 2022. With barely 48 hours left, the campaigning came to a close at 5pm today. Now, it’s the waiting for the election day. Political parties Predominantly three parties in the fray – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Congress.

All the three parties have done their best as far as the campaigning goes. Some candidates have added a personal touch by going around houses, touching feet of elders and requesting them to vote for him or her. The others have taken out processions across the lanes and bylanes of their constituencies. In short, all the parties in this MCD have done extensive campaigning.

It was after decades I saw candidates almost daily hitting the road and interacting with locals at least it happened in Mayur Vihar constituency. While talking to locals, I found their criteria to elect their councillor is clear. Locals would go for that person who stay in the area or is easily accessible.

In this MCD polls, the most significant thing that has turned out to be an attraction is the fielding of women candidates in large number.

Though it’s too early to predict who will win the MCD polls but going by the trends, there is an indication of cut throat fight between BJP and AAP. Not only there will be one of them will put a dent on the other but will help the other party to win under anti-incumbency factor. Congress that used to be at the helm once, will only put dent or cut votes.

Apart from development, the issue of the viral video tape of Satyendra Jain is already working in favour of BJP which has and have touched to expose the AAP in the coming days.

MCD polls will decide the respective councillors and in broad sphere, the mayor. People are decided as some openly say BJP will be able to retain its MCD seat while others opine that AAP will come to MCD. Too early to react though, the results will be out on December 7, 2022.  

MCD Polls: Allegations-counter allegations regular feature between BJP and AAP, says polls to be fought on garbage issue

Ornamental makeovers, putting icing on the sugar across the city by civic bodies is nothing new when elections are knocking at door. The same city that faces step children attitude due to apathy of municipal bodies in the states suddenly become spic and span as the civic polls are announced. This is exactly the situation in Delhi which is about to go to municipal elections. The dates are not yet announced but as per the speculations, the dates will be announced within a few days. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have fastened their seat-belts and engaging in daily brick-bating. The city politics has turned murkier with both BJP and AAP indulging into allegations and counter allegations.

The problem is city dwellers who have no say in these political cat-fights are the worst sufferers as who ever come to civic bodies totally turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the plight of the people. Water filling in the city or garbage is a perennial problem.

On Thursday today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with deputy Chief Minister manish Sisodia visited the Ghazipur landfill site and said the upcoming MCD polls will be fought on garbage issue. He assured the Delhi-ites that if AAP comes to power then Delhi will be clean city in five years. Immediately, BJP MP and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir said, he did not see AAP doing a bit to clean the city in past seven years.

Last week Union Home Minister Amit Shah while inaugurating the Tehkhand waste to energy plant at Tughlakabad said,  Kejeriwal government showed a “step-motherly treatment” to erstwhile three Delhi civic bodies, and claimed that the AAP government owed them ₹40,000 crore. Shah took a pick at the AAP and said, “We want to make Delhi ‘atmanirbhar’ and Kejriwal wants Delhi to be ‘AAP nirbhar”.

The Union home ministry recently accepted the and notified the final delimitation commission report that was constituted by the Centre following the merger of the three civic bodies into a unified MCD through two notifications issued on October 17, paving the way for holding municipal elections in Delhi. The polls were abruptly cancelled in March when the Centre announced that the three civic bodies in the city will be merged. A unified MCD came into being in May.