Day left for polling: BJP, Congress, INLD fight over independents

Congress have thrown their weight behind independents after deciding not to contest on party symbol

The ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and opposition Congress and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) are warring over independent candidates with just a day left for polling in the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) election scheduled for Sunday.

The BJP leaders on Friday accused the Congress and INLD of supporting independent candidates in ‘desperation’ as they were not confident of contesting on party symbols. (Parveen Kumar/HT FILE)

Of a total 202 candidates, 147 are independents. BJP allotted tickets on all 35 seats while INLD fielded 20 candidates. Congress has decided not to contest on the party symbol.

The BJP leaders on Friday accused the Congress and INLD of supporting independent candidates in “desperation” as they were not confident of contesting on party symbols.

“The Congress and INLD’s decision to support independent candidates in the upcoming MCG elections is nothing but a step taken in desperation so as to survive in the political arena,” said BJP district president Bhupendra Chauhan.

Chauhan said the friendship of the two opposition parties is not new and they even colluded in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

The Congress is supporting 14 independent candidates while INLD has extended support to 10 independents from various wards.

The BJP spokesperson Raman Malik alleged that the two parties are supporting some of the independents who were seeking tickets from the BJP.

“The state has witnessed a new political formation — INCO ( INLD + Congress),” he said.

“We are not supporting any BJP rebels. We have extended support to candidates on the basis of their profile, performance and vision for development. We want to fight against communal forces,” said Capt (retd) Ajay Singh Yadav, former minister and senior Congress leader.

Yadav said not contesting on party symbol is the party’s decision. “Had Congress contested on the party symbol, the BJP would have been wiped off,” he claimed.

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The Congress, in the 2011 MCG election, also adopted the same strategy of not fielding any candidate on the party symbol and supported independents. When the results were declared, BJP had secured three seats, INLD six, and 26 independent candidates largely supported by Congress were elected.

Gopi Chand Gahlot, senior INLD leader, said, “We are supporting candidates who are intellectual, social workers, and have a clean image. The BJP is losing ground as can be seen from the baseless allegations that are being levelled.”