Vijayapura: With the date for filing of nomination papers started, the intensity of lobbying for the tickets has increased and the parties are gearing up to face the local polls scheduled on October 28.
Though the fight appears to be directly between the ruling BJP and the Congress, however several other regional parties have thrown their hats in the ring to test their luck.
Besides two national parties – BJP and the Congress, three other parties have already made it clear that they would be fielding their candidates – AAP, AIMIM and SDPI. The State and the District leaders of these parties have declared that they will be contesting the City Corporation election.
What is interesting is that, so far, no official word has come from the JD (S). However, the party is certain to field the candidates in the polls.
What is a noticeable factor is that BJP and Congress seem to have become the first choice of the aspirants because of the presence of the strong local leaders in contrast to other parties.
Barring JD (S) other three parties, the AAP, AIMIM and the SDPI are contesting the City Corporation polls for the first time. All three parties have no strong local leaders. Among the three, AAP could be considered a stronger party as it has been working on the ground for some time. It has also added a number of activists mainly after the victory of the party in the Punjab Assembly elections.
AIMIM has won two seats in Kolhar TMC, however, the party is still strolling to create a base in Vijayapura City. While at least a section of people, mainly the Muslims seemed to be connected to MIM, the SDPI lacks the leadership and the support of the people.
Amid this, the leaders are facing a herculean task in selecting the right candidate as they are under tremendous pressure because of the large number of aspirants, mainly to seek tickets from the BJP and the Congress.
