Other States - Rajasthan   

Congress, BJP woo voters

JAIPUR: As the campaign deadline for 126 civic bodies in 31 districts of Rajasthan which are scheduled to go to the polls on Wednesday ended on Monday evening, the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party issued separate appeals to the 34.69 lakh electorate seeking their support. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot made the appeal on behalf of the Congress while the BJP appeal came from the former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

The Chief Minister, who had left the campaign to the local MPs, MLAs and leaders of the party, made a plea to the voters to add another link to the chain of mandate the people had given to the Congress -- for the Lok Sabha, the first phase of civic elections and the panchayat elections -- after the November 2008 State Assembly elections. “The Centre and the State Government together will make policies and programmes to empower and strengthen the civic bodies,” he assured.

Mr. Gehlot mentioned the move for imminent devolution of powers to the local self-government bodies and the first time direct elections of the mayors/chairpersons /presiding officers taking place in the civic bodies to drive home the intentions of the State Government to bring about a sea change in the governance. “We will give a new direction to the growth and development in the urban centres as we promised in our manifesto,” he promised.

Mr. Gehlot said the Government had already decided to regularize the katchi bastis established up to August 15, 2009, and to provide residential accommodation to the urban poor under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna, while the newly launched Affordable Housing Plan would take care of the common man. The present budget had earmarked Rs.400 crores for creation of an Urban Development Fund, he pointed out.

Though the bountiful monsoon in the State so far has proved a big boon to the Congress in the current elections, Mr. Gehlot chose to mention the way the Government managed to maintain the water supply and power in the “most difficult” summer months.

Jaipur Metro

The appeal mentioned the latest dream of the State's people -- Jaipur Metro -- on which Mr. Gehlot said the State Government had ventured into the ambitious project on its own strength and without waiting for any outside help. He also did not fail to make a comparison between the previous BJP regime and his period in the context of overall “peace and harmony”: “We believe in taking everybody with us. We believe in decentralization of power and in the development of the State with the participation of the common man.”

Ms. Raje in her appeal said the 20 months of Congress Government here had the left the civic bodies in a financial crisis. “Not to speak of urban development, the civic bodies are not in a position to even pay their staff,” she said, warning voters not to entertain “any hope” from the Congress. “The people should note that during the BJP Government the urban bodies were stronger and there had been simultaneous development of both the rural areas and the urban centres.”

Ms. Raje asked the people to vote against the Congress on account of price rise, unemployment, growing crime and atrocities against women so that it would help to open the eyes of the Government.

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