Enthused aspirants starts raising civic issues inconvenient to public

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Supreme Court has recently ordered that municipal corporation elections be held before January 31. Following this directive, the enthusiasm of aspiring candidates in the city has reached its peak, and many have already started groundwork in their respective wards. Interestingly, those who ignored civic issues in their wards for the past five years are now rushing to take credit for even the smallest works. Social media has become the main tool for campaigning, with supporters actively encouraging their candidates.

The last municipal election was held in April 2015. Since April 2020, no elections have taken place. Now, with the court’s order, aspirants are confident that the polls will finally be held. In this context, preparations have begun across 29 prabhags of the city. Independent candidates and those from very small parties may find it difficult to survive in the prabhag system, whereas aspirants from major political parties have already begun large-scale work in the hope of securing party tickets. From 28 prabhags, four members each will be elected (total 112), while the 29th prabhag will elect three members, bringing the total to 115 corporators.

Aspirants dive into action

– Until yesterday, when a drainage line would collapse or leak, these aspirants were nowhere to be seen. Now, they are flooding municipal ward engineers with complaints. What’s more, they are clicking pictures when works are being carried out and posting them on social media, claiming credit.

– In Muslim-majority areas, candidates are seen mingling late into the night at street corners and tea stalls. When MSEDCL workers cut tree branches near electric lines, aspirants made sure to be present. In Kiradpura, the ground had been piled with garbage for months. On Saturday, the newspaper published a detailed report with photos. Soon after, the corporation cleared the garbage with JCB machines. The aspirants rushed to the spot and posted on social media, claiming, “This happened because of me.”

– One candidate has even started door-to-door visits. Some smart citizens, with garlands in hand, welcomed him, creating a show of public support. Issues like illegal parking in open spaces or other local inconveniences are being highlighted, with aspirants projecting themselves as the true ‘Messiahs’ of the ward.