Cong raises stakes sans ground work
LUCKNOW: By making a former union minister Pradeep Jain ‘Aditya’ a candidate for Jhansi mayor’s post and releasing a list of over 50 star campaigners, the Congress has sought to raise stakes in the civic polls in UP.
Yet the Congress’s first list of candidates was greeted with exchange of blows among partymen, with a section of them claiming that outsiders had been given preference.
The Congress had decided to go it alone in the civic polls well in advance, thinking it to be an opportunity to test the public mood . Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Raj Babbar held meetings with district party units to arrive at a consensus on names of probable candidates before announcement of civic polls. A controversy over the names of candidates, therefore, forced the leaders to reconsider names in some districts. “This controversy forced the party to rethink and change its candidates on seats like Lucknow. The party finalized the name of its candidates for Lucknow mayor’s seat only a few hours before closing of nominations ,” a senior leader said.
After the first phase of voting, there is a realization that only a few star campaigners have turned up for campaigning.
Babbar has held road shows in favour of candidates in Agra and Varanasi and public meetings in many districts. Other party leaders who campaigned included Sanjay Sinh, Jitin Prasada and Pramod Tiwari. “The Congress is yet to learn its lessons despite losing Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The party has not done sufficient work at grassroots levels. We should have roped in more senior leaders for campaigning,” said another leader.
Babbar was not available for comments. Prasada, who addressed public meetings in Lucknow and Shahjahanpur recently, said there was good response from the people. He said the BJP was seeking votes in civic elections in Lucknow telling the voters to give party a chance.