BENGALURU: With the BBMP elections now unlikely to be deferred, political parties are hard at work to ensure they come out on top when the city goes out and votes on August 22.
According to Subba Narasimha, BJP city unit president, the party will focus on issues related to environment and health in its manifesto. “We are also focusing on more parks, developing roads and improving traffic movement. We have also included construction of four multi-specialty hospitals on the outer ring road in four ends.”
Subba said the BJP manifesto for the 2010 BBMP elections had the tagline ‘Vision 2020’. Significant changes cannot be made in just five years. “We need another term. We took some lake rejuvenation and road works in our previous term. This apart, we are also keen on developing the newly added areas.”
There are water and road problems in newly added areas. City MPs and BJP MLAs had met Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu seeking funds and this will be included in the manifesto, he said.
The BJP had won 113 seats in the last elections and it is confident of winning 120 this time. “By July 31 (Friday), each assembly section core committee will submit the list of candidates of their region and the full list will be finalised on August 5,” he said.
The JD(S) has already convened a meeting of its office-bearers that was attended by its state president H D Kumaraswamy, MLAs Zameer Ahmed and MLC Saravana among others. The JD(S) is going to bring a “visionary document” for the city, and a booklet on this will be released when the list of candidates is announced, Kumaraswamy told Express.
“We will list out misappropriation of funds by the BJP and the Congress in the past five years. The selection of candidates is going on. By next week, we will finalise the list.”
As for the Congress, which had tried so hard to put off the elections, District Minister Ramalinga Reddy said preparations are under way. He said the party is ready to face polls and is confident of winning a simple majority. “We have a Congress government in the state. The Modi magic will not work for local body elections,” he said.
The Congress manifesto includes development of roads, solution to traffic problems and solid waste management among others.
RAHUL’S STERN WARNING TO LEADERS
AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who had visited the state last week, is said to have directed CM Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief G Parameshwara to take the BBMP elections seriously and make sure the party comes to power in the city. Party sources said Rahul met city legislators and asked them to publicise the government’s various pro-people measures. “We were issued a stern warning on the necessity of winning the civic polls,” a party source said.