​AAP-beat After Jalandhar Success, Bhagwant Mann Govt Sets Sights on 4 Urban Civic Bodies

After its success in the assembly elections and the recent Lok Sabha bypolls in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has now shifted its focus to the elections to the urban civic bodies in the state, including the prestigious business hub Ludhiana.

The elections to the four municipal corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala are due shortly and the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government has started preparing for the hustings.

The AAP is targeting these civic bodies as they are held by the Congress.

In Amritsar, Patiala and Jalandhar, where elections were held in 2017, the Congress had trounced all other parties. The outcome of the polls in Ludhiana, held in 2018, was the same with Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress emerging triumphant.

The government will soon approach the state election commission to prepare a schedule for the polls. The government has started to meet local officials to take stock of the preparations. The local bodies department has started delimitation exercise in the wards.

EYE ON 2024

With a huge urban electorate expected to vote in these municipal polls, the AAP is trying to focus on that target audience keeping into account next year’s Lok Sabha elections. “These areas are urban centres and the party wants to establish a connect with the urban voter. A good performance in these polls will ensure that the party manages to cash in on this segment ahead of the LS polls,” said a senior AAP leader.

The party is charged up by the recent success in the Jalandhar parliamentary bypolls, but seems to be conscious of the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was contesting the polls solo for the first time after two decades, registered an impressive performance. “The party realises that BJP has a strong connect with the urban voter and it wants to dent that,” remarked a leader.

To get an upper edge, the party is already contemplating various ‘urban voter-centric steps’ to woo the electorate.

In Ludhiana and Jalandhar, the ruling party is exploring the possibility of major amendments to the policy on illegal colonies. The amendments were aimed at regularising plots in unauthorised colonies where construction has taken place till December 31, 2022, but the sale agreements were executed before March 19, 2018. The amendments mandating nod of the Cabinet had been kept pending due to the model code of conduct during the Jalandhar parliamentary bypolls.

Ahead of the upcoming polls, the local bodies department has started delimitation of the wards as municipal corporations and municipal towns.

Keeping in line with their political requirements, the ruling party could go for delimitation of wards in the respective municipal corporation.