The Hindu : Other States / Madhya Pradesh News : Campaigning for Bhopal Mayoral poll ends

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Friday, Nov 19, 2004

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Campaigning for Bhopal Mayoral poll ends

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, NOV. 18. The Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Transport and former Bhopal Mayor, Uma Shankar Gupta, today made a fervent appeal to citizens here and sought their vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party's mayoral candidate promising a corruption-free and development oriented civic administration.

Mr. Gupta was addressing a press conference, flanked by the mayoral candidate, Bhagwandas Sabnani, at the State BJP headquarters here this morning. With polling scheduled here for Saturday, the campaigning for the Mayor's election came to an end today.

Mr. Gupta said that the BJP had strongly opposed the steep increase in water tariff from Rs. 60 to Rs.150 per month by the previous Congress-led Bhopal Municipal Corporation. Immediately after the BJP came to power in the State, the water tariff was rolled back to Rs. 60, he said, adding that it was the BJP's strong conviction that water should be made available to the people at the cheapest rate and if necessary the Government should even subsidise water supply.

He said the BJP wants to develop Bhopal as a model "garbage-free" city. All efforts would be made to keep the city clean, he said, and went on to emphasise that steps would also be taken to end the practice of burning waste on the spot inside the residential areas.

On the water supply front, Mr. Gupta said that all necessary clearances have been obtained for completing the task of bringing Narmada water to the State capital within the next three years. The Congress would lose the Bhopal Mayor's election by at least one lakh votes, Mr. Gupta claimed.

From the Congress side, Sunil Sood, the main rival of the BJP mayoral candidate, has adopted a modest pro-development stand. He has been telling the Bhopal residents that instead of promising to turn Bhopal into another Paris or New York, it would be his priority to work for a cleaner city with all basic

necessities. The endeavour would be to make Bhopal a clean city, he has been emphasising in his campaign.

While the Congress and BJP candidates are giving each other a tough fight, what has become a cause for serious anxiety in the BJP camp is the presence of the

former BJP MLA, Shailendra Pradhan, in the Mayor's race as a rebel candidate. While Mr. Pradhan, who belongs to the Kayastha community, is banking heavily on the caste factor and the disgruntled elements both within the BJP as well as the Congress, the State Transport Minister and former Mayor, Umashankar Gupta, is of the view that individuals do not matter as people largely vote for a party. Talking to journalists here today, he also said that the Uma Bharti episode is an internal matter of the party and would not leave any adverse impact on their party's poll prospects.

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