Jaipur, Sep 5 (IANS) Campaigning for the Rajasthan urban local body elections is gaining momentum, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party banking on Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma’s high-profile roadshows and organisational machinery, while the Opposition Congress is taking a more localised route centred on ward-level candidates, grassroots networks and civic issues.

The contrasting strategies have turned the polls into a test of whether the BJP’s star power can outweigh the Congress’s focus on local governance and voter connect.

CM Sharma is scheduled to hold 10 mega roadshows across major cities during the final phase of campaigning and seek votes for BJP candidates contesting the municipal elections.

While the BJP is relying on the Chief Minister, Union and state ministers and its organisational machinery to strengthen its campaign, the Congress has adopted a more localised approach, placing greater emphasis on ward-level candidates, local leaders and civic issues.

The contrasting strategies have turned the urban local body elections into a test of whether the BJP’s high-profile campaign and organisational strength can counter the Congress’s focus on local issues and grassroots networks. The BJP has planned the Chief Minister’s roadshows across major regions of Rajasthan.

Roadshows have been planned in Udaipur and Bhilwara on Saturday. Bhajanlal Sharma will begin the roadshow campaign with programmes in Udaipur and Bhilwara, focusing on the Mewar region and its urban voters.

On Sunday, roadshows are planned in Bikaner, Ajmer and Jodhpur. The Chief Minister will cover Bikaner, Ajmer and Jodhpur in a single day.

The programmes are aimed at boosting the campaign in key urban centres across western and central Rajasthan.

Monday’s roadshows are to take place in Bharatpur and Alwar, which are two important urban centres in eastern Rajasthan and the Matsya region.

On September 8, roadshows are planned in Pali and Kota. The campaign will move to Pali and Kota, where the BJP plans to maintain momentum in the final days of campaigning.

On September 9, a roadshow is planned in Jaipur, and the campaign will conclude with this mega roadshow in the state capital the same day, the final day of campaigning. The programme is expected to cover multiple wards under the Jaipur Municipal Corporation.

The BJP’s campaign strategy extends beyond public roadshows. Senior party leaders are also holding organisational meetings in different districts to strengthen booth-level preparations and coordinate campaign activities.

The party’s central election in-charge, co-in-charges and national office bearers are monitoring preparations in different regions.

Ministers from the Union and state governments have also been assigned responsibilities for specific wards and municipal bodies.

The BJP leadership is focusing on direct coordination with booth-level workers and addressing organisational weaknesses and internal differences during the final phase of the campaign.

The Congress has adopted a different campaign strategy, with greater emphasis on local leadership and ward-level issues rather than large-scale campaigns involving prominent state or central leaders.

Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra has maintained that municipal elections are primarily fought on local issues, including sanitation, streetlights, roads and ward-level development.

Key elements of Congress strategy include local leadership, which includes Local MLAs, former MLAs, and ward-level leaders who have been given a prominent role in managing campaigns in their respective areas.

Next is door-to-door campaigning, in which Congress candidates are focusing on direct contact with voters and highlighting issues specific to individual wards. Further, there is limited use of senior leaders as the party’s approach is to rely primarily on local organisational strength, with senior leaders being brought into campaigns where required by local units.

Eventually, the two major parties are entering the civic elections with distinctly different campaign approaches.

While the BJP is relying on Sharma’s campaign, the participation of ministers and senior leaders, and its booth-level organisational network, the Congress, meanwhile, is seeking to make the elections a contest centred on local governance, civic amenities and the individual credibility of ward candidates.

With voting approaching, the effectiveness of these two strategies, BJP’s high-profile campaign versus Congress’s local-level connect, will be closely watched across Rajasthan’s urban constituencies, said locals.

–IANS

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