To get upper hand in MC, leaders descend on ward 7

Bypoll victory crucial as Congress, BJP have 11 seats each in the General House

LEADERS of all political parties are descending on ward 7 to woo voters and seek support for their candidates. With by-elections to be held in just one ward that essentially comprises Maloya village and colony, it is the centre of focus of political parties. A win in this ward would tilt the balance of seats in the Municipal Corporation house for the parties, especially the Congress and BJP which at present have 11 seats each in the General House.

The parties have constituted committees on all the 11 booths that are being headed by different leaders. These committees are required to visit each house that falls in their booth and get to know the voters. Informal surveys are being conducted to know the preference of the voters.

The seat was held by the BJP before the death of area councillor Laxmi Devi. The BJP-SAD alliance had won 12 seats in the municipal elections that were held in December last year. While the Congress bagged 11 seats, the BJP had been claiming that the mandate of the people was with them with the alliance having one seat more than the Congress. The party is making attempts to retain the seat. All the councillors are part of the committees constituted in the area.

President of the city unit of BJP Sanjay Tandon says, "The BJP councillors have been performing well in the Municipal Corporation and development is taking place in their wards. With our candidate Bindu Rani being the daughter-in-law of the deceased councillor, there is sympathy for the family as well. These factors would ensure that the party wins the seat."

The ward has more than 14,000 voters. Of these, around 4,000 are in the village and the remaining in the colony and other areas. During the municipal election, the BJP bagged around 2,000 votes in the village and the Congress was at third position with around 300 votes. In the colony, while the BJP was at the third position, the party still managed to bag the seat. All eyes of the political parties are now set on the village votes where the voters tend to vote for a particular party.

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