Rajasthan: BJP, Congress yet to finalise candidates for civic polls

JAIPUR: With three days left for filing of nomination papers in the the upcoming civic body elections in Rajasthan, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are busy finalising the list of candidates.

Elections for 46 civic bodies in the state, including six municipal corporations, are slated to be held on November 22 for which the parties are working hard to ensure their victory.

"The work to select names of the candidates is in the final stage. Reports of most of the observers have come and we will soon announce the names of the candidates," BJP spokesperson Kailash Nath Bhatt said.

"Winnable candidate will be given ticket. The party will not only cross check the credentials of the candidate from local leaders and workers but knowledge of the candidate about history and ideology of the party will also be examined," he said.

The party said that sly and Lok Sabha elections has raised the aspiration of local leaders and eventually the number of ticket seekers from every ward has almost doubled.

"In such a way, a system is being followed to segregate serious candidates from the rest," another leader said.

Over 63.09 lakh electors will cast their votes at 6,135 polling booths in 1696 wards in 24 (out of 33) districts, according to Chief Election Commissioner of RSEC Ram Lubhaya.

The polls will be held in six municipal corporations of Jaipur, Kota, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur and Bharatpur, 18 municipal councils and 22 municipalities.

The Opposition Congress, which won three assembly seats out of four in the September bypolls, is hopeful of putting up a good show in the civic body elections.

PCC Spokesperson Archana Sharma said that the lists were expected by November 9.

"Panels have been formed and observers have also submitted their reports," she said, while adding, that opinion from all the leaders was taken for finalising the tickets.

She said that many of the candidates in local body elections would be young faces.

"Through this move, party wants to polarise youth and create new leadership at the ground level," she added.