Shimla MC poll: Congress, BJP slug it out as campaign picks up 

The Congress is banking on the ‘anti-incumbency’ factor to work against the BJP, which won majority seats in the year 2017 to gain control of the Shimla MC.

With the election for the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC), one of the country’s oldest municipalities, slated for May 2, the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are all set for a direct fight even as electioneering for the poll gains momentum.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation has traditionally been a Congress stronghold and is riding high on confidence, following the party’s win in the recently held Assembly election in Himachal Pradesh. The Congress is banking on the ‘anti-incumbency’ factor to work against the BJP, which won majority seats in the year 2017 to gain control of the Shimla MC.

Also read: Congress wrests Himachal Pradesh from BJP

The Congress party is also optimistic about garnering support by showcasing its work done in the past four months since it came to power in the State.

The BJP, on the other hand, is harping on the development work done under its regime in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The BJP leaders, during their election campaign are also targeting the Congress party, accusing its government in the State of misleading the people surrounding fulfilling the ‘guarantees’ promised in the run up to the 2022 Assembly poll.

The task for the BJP to retain its hold over the Shimla Municipal Corporation though, is not an easy one with the Congress steering on the momentum of its recent Assembly win. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who is leading Congress’s campaign from the front, has himself remained councillor from one of the wards twice, during the early days of his political career. The election has become a matter of prestige not just for the party but for the Chief Minister as well.

The polling for the 34 seats (wards) in the Shimla MC will be held on May 2, and votes will be counted on May 4. Even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and CPI(M) have fielded candidates in certain wards, the electoral battle is largely being seen between the Congress and the BJP.