NEW DELHI: Faced with growing public anger over sharp increase in prices of essential commodities, vegetables, diesel and petrol coupled with poor performance on the power and water front, the Congress is weary of contesting the upcoming by-election for the Subhash Nagar Municipal Ward scheduled for July 23.

On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party is upbeat and looking forward to the by-poll which, it feels, could well lay the foundation for its return to power in the Capital. The Third Front is also in active mode and contemplating putting up a candidate for the by-election.

Such a scenario would make things difficult for the ruling Congress. Ever since 1998-99, the Congress has not lost a single election in the Capital except for the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat in 2004 and the mood at present, according to many Congress leaders, could well upset political equations.

Turning the heat on the ruling party, the BJP has gone ahead and even announced the candidature of senior leader Meera Kanwaria for the Subhash Nagar seat. The seat had fallen vacant after sitting Councillor Sunita Bharti was disqualified by the Supreme Court for having submitted a false Scheduled Caste certificate. The BJP leaders are confident that the Subhash Nagar by-election provides the best opportunity for the party to make a comeback and put the Congress on the defensive before the MCD elections to be held early next year.

It is learnt that Congress leaders in the Delhi unit along with Members of Parliament including Outer Delhi MP Sajjan Kumar, former MP R.K. Anand and former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler had opposed the by-election and even petitioned the party high command against such a move pleading that the party would face defeat if an election was held in the present circumstances. While the faction led by DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma wants the Chief Minister to decide on the candidate for the by-election, it is learnt that Ms. Dikshit is not keen on naming anybody. Mr. Sharma was expected to meet Ms. Dikshit on Monday night to finalise the candidate.

Meanwhile, the Third Front has got active. At the initiative of former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana a meeting was held on Monday to work out an arrangement. Apart from senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, also present at the meeting were Deputy Speaker and Janata Dal (S) Delhi president Shoaib Iqbal, Jan Morcha leader Jai Bhagwan Jatav and NCP leader Sukhbir Panwar.

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