LUCKNOW: Political parties in Uttar Pradesh have begun gearing up for civic polls, due likely by the year-end and seen largely as an opportunity to test their connect with urban voters.
The parties are appointing coordinators for these urban polls which all political players are looking at as an opportunity to galvanise cadres.
However, their problems are different. The BJP, on a roll in the state since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, faces the problem of plenty and has already sent out a message advising its state level functionaries or ministers to not seek tickets in these elections for their relatives.
The Congress, under its new dalit chief Brijlal Khabri, is looking to regroup after an embarrassing sequence of political upsets and has asked probable candidates to fill up forms and list around 300 supporters of theirs.
In 2017, the Samajwadi Party had won a sizeable number of corporation wards (202 against BJP’s 596), nagar palika parishads (45) and nagar panchayat chairman posts (83), though it failed to win a single mayoral post, unlike the BSP, which, contesting its first civic polls in two decades, had won two key west UP mayoral seats of Meerut and Aligarh and lost a third (Saharanpur seat) by a whisker.
On the occasion of her mentor Kanshiram’s 16th death anniversary on Sunday, Mayawati had tasked her cadre with the responsibility of putting up a good show in these soon-to-be-announced urban polls. “Remember power is the key to our mission,” Mayawati had told her cadre. While the ruling party is planning to market delivery of government schemes among urban poor and free ration among the voters, the opposition is readying up a list of how poor infra is affecting masses.
{{/usCountry}}On the occasion of her mentor Kanshiram’s 16th death anniversary on Sunday, Mayawati had tasked her cadre with the responsibility of putting up a good show in these soon-to-be-announced urban polls. “Remember power is the key to our mission,” Mayawati had told her cadre. While the ruling party is planning to market delivery of government schemes among urban poor and free ration among the voters, the opposition is readying up a list of how poor infra is affecting masses.
{{/usCountry}}On Wednesday, Mayawati tweeted about the poor quality of roads in the state and mocked the recent claim made by surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari, who had said that UP’s road infra would be akin to the US by 2024.
“There are reports of 582 potholes on the 50-kilometre road between Lucknow and Unnao and yet, dreams of US like road infra are being sold,” Mayawati tweeted.
“Virtually everyday ministers in UP make tall claims of pot hole- free roads and yet, poor roads are not just between Lucknow and Unnao but across the state. While the government’s inability to make roads smooth is both a surprise and a cause for concern for the people, there are those who are selling dreams of US like roads in UP,” she said.
The Samajwadi Party leadership, currently in mourning, is also expected to begin screening candidates soon.