Elections due by Nov, BJP focusing on JMC

Assembly polls or no polls this year, BJP is surely girding up loins for JMC elections which are due by November. The party is trying to straighten the ruffled issues both within the body and outside by establishing rapport with the masses in order to ward off their anger over scores of issues.

Sources said the party leaders are well aware of the fact the people of Jammu who enabled them to win 43 seats in the Corporation in last elections were far from being satisfied with the functioning of corp orators in day to day works of civic body. In the corruption ridden JMC even most common works like getting birth and death certificates involved lot of hassels, not to speak of getting building permissions or other basic works that faced glitches quite often.

The resentment of people of Jammu on scores of similar accounts caught the eye of BJP leadership in time which is why they are right now focusing on building a ‘helpful connection’ with the masses, sources within the party said.

The strategy is simple-if party is able to win over unhappy people of Jammu, it will sweep the polls yet again and if that mark is reached, the impact will surely be positive on Assembly polls in and around Jammu.

For this, the incumbent Mayor and Deputy Mayor has not only streamlined the functioning of JMC by keeping all corporators in loop irrespective of party affliations with regard to vital decisions, but also trying productively in building direct connect with the masses, sources said.

As for the strategy of the party at the highest level, the instructions have already gone down the hierarchy that ahead of Assembly polls, the focus has to be on JMC polls which are due in November this year as per the tenure. For this, apart from respective corporators, senior leaders are being entrusted responsibility to visit wards, hold meetings regularly and take an insight of the mood of people as also their problems.

Now interestingly, while BJP is firming up on JMC with a well devised programme, its rivals mainly Congress is perhaps blissfully unaware of the fact JMC has to go to polls this year. The leaders are still ridden with success of BJY hangover as they are not picking up with BJP’s pace on other issues. Evidently, the latter wishes to cash on party’s complacency on every front, said the sources confirming that senior leaders are keeping everyone on toes and leaving no scope for smugness or self satisfaction to creep in.

Like Congress, other parties NC and PDP too are nowhere in picture nor serious for having stakes in the prestigious body making the roads quite easy for BJP. BJP had won 43 seats in last elections for JMC while as Congress managed 13 seats.