Shimla civic polls: BJP looks to retain control, Congress seeks to consolidate hold in Himachal capital

Alittle over 90,000 voters will determine the fate of 102 candidates from 34 wards contesting the Shimla Municipal Corporations elections, scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

The results of the elections, which are being held on party symbols, will be declared on Thursday. According to State Election Commission data, 93,920 voters are registered to exercise their franchises in the elections. These include 49,759 male and 44,161 female voters at 153 polling booths.

Vikas Nagar ward has the maximum number of voters at 4,161 while Malyana has the lowest at 1,166. During the campaigning for the elections, the contesting parties have made lofty promises to the electorate. From highways to skywalks and parks to parking spots, the parties made a plethora of promises during roadshows, street corner meetings and door-to-door campaigns. The Congress has promised to introduce policies for the regularisation of multi-storey buildings and a uniform tax regime for both old and merged areas, a ropeway system and allowing non-agriculturists settled in Shimla before 1971 to build homes.

On the other hand, the BJP has promised 40,000 litres of free water to every household a month and a ‘One Nigam, One Tax’ policy that would club taxes for houses, garbage and sewerage into one for the convenience of citizens. It has also promised a 50 per cent rebate on garbage bills.

According to the voters, the major election issues are 24×7 water supply, new parking facilities, widening of roads and controlling the drugs menace. All the major parties have promised to make Shimla green and drugs free and solve the traffic congestion issue by constructing parking lots.

While the BJP is taking credit for developmental works, including the construction of skywalks and tunnels, under the Shimla Smart City project, the Congress has alleged corruption in its utilisation.

The elections to the Shimla Municipal Corporation are crucial for both the Congress and the BJP. The Congress, which stormed to power in Himachal Pradesh in December, will look to consolidate its political hold by regaining control of the civic body in the state capital. The BJP, which governed the outgoing municipal corporation board, is looking at the elections as a prestige fight.

Of the 34 wards in the civic body, 50 per cent are reserved for women. Six wards are reserved for Scheduled Castes, including three for women. The remaining 14 wards are unreserved. The BJP and the Congress have fielded women candidates from 23 and 18 wards, respectively.

While both the BJP and Congress have fielded candidates from all 34 wards, AAP and CPI(M) candidates are contesting from 21 and four seats, respectively. Ten seats will witness a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress. Nine Independents, including Congress rebel and former Shimla mayor Sohan Lal from Krishan Nagar and the BJP’s ex-leader Aarti Chauhan from Engine Ghar, are also in the fray.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation constitutes areas of three assembly segments — Shimla (Urban), Shimla (Rural) and Kusumpti. All three segments are currently represented by Congress MLAs, two of whom are ministers in Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s cabinet.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and other top leaders held roadshows and rallies for the BJP candidates while Sukhu, his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pratibha Singh and several ministers in the state cabinet spearheaded the party’s campaign. Sukhu has previously served as a councillor in the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

In the 2017 elections, the BJP wrested the civic body from the Congress for the first time in 32 years, winning 17 wards. The Congress won 12 wards, the CPI(M) from one and Independents from four. The civic body’s five-year term ended in June 2022 but the elections were delayed by 11 months.