Electioneering for the Mandi Municipal Corporation polls gathered momentum on Tuesday as both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensified their campaigns across various wards of the town ahead of the civic elections. Senior leaders from both parties held public meetings and carried out door-to-door outreach programmes to mobilise support for their respective candidates.
Public Works and Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh spearheaded the Congress campaign and addressed a public meeting in the Purani Mandi ward late in the evening. Launching a sharp attack on the BJP, he alleged that the previous BJP-led Municipal Corporation had failed to meet public expectations during its five-year tenure.
He claimed that despite making tall promises of development, the BJP had failed to provide basic civic amenities such as proper water supply, roads and sanitation facilities to residents of the town. Accusing the BJP leadership of misleading the people of Mandi, Vikramaditya said no significant or visible development had taken place during the party’s tenure in the civic body.
The minister said the people of Mandi were now looking for change and expressed confidence that Congress candidates would secure a decisive mandate in the elections. He also urged party workers to strengthen grassroots campaigning and reach out to voters in every ward of the Municipal Corporation.
Vikramaditya Singh is expected to remain in Mandi till May 15 to campaign extensively for Congress nominees. Senior Congress leaders, including party in-charge Rajni Patil and Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Vinay Kumar, are also likely to campaign in Mandi on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur continued the BJP’s campaign in wards such as Sanyard, Palace Colony-1, Palace Colony-2 and Suhra. Addressing election meetings, he accused the Congress government of neglecting Mandi and halting several development projects initiated during the previous BJP regime.
Referring to the Shivdham project, Jai Ram alleged that the Congress government had stalled the ambitious religious tourism initiative despite its potential to boost tourism and strengthen the local economy. He appealed to voters to elect BJP candidates in all 14 wards, promising transparent governance and faster development works under a BJP-led MC.
