The exercise to elect members of the new Khadki Cantonment Board has taken a different hue this time. It would be a sort of an indicator to gauge whether the resurgent BJP can dislodge the Congress from another stronghold. The 40,000 voters of Khadki are ready to decide on Sunday. The Congress campaign has been focusing on accessibility of leaders. The BJP is highlighting lack of development as the election plank. Congress had six out of eight councillors in the dissolved board of KCB, not a surprising majority considering it has been a stronghold of the party for years. The Congress hopes this elections will ensure the party’s hold remains intact. Senior Congress leaders are, however, candid enough to admit that post the BJP’s electoral gains in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, the “going will not be very easy for the party.” “Without doubt, the BJP is on the rise after their performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. At the local level, the BJP might not have a strong presence but we can’t take any seat for granted,” said a senior Congress functionary. The party has to deal with internal dissent. A few disgruntled partymen are contesting as independents. The party fears division of votes will be detrimental to its chances. KCB is within Shivajinagar Assembly constituency. In the last elections, Congress MLA Vinayak Nimhan was defeated by the relatively low-profile Vijay Kale of BJP. Nimhan’s staunch supporter Manish Anand has been the former vice-president of KCB. This time, both Anand and wife Pooja are Congress candidates from ward 3 and 4. The majority of sitting councillors are contesting. Neither BJP and Shiv Sena nor the Congress and NCP managed to strike a pre-poll alliance. There are 74 candidates. The Congress campaign was marked by a door-to-door campaign and rallies. The BJP managed to get minister Dilip Kamble to hit the campaign trail. Kale, along with other MLAs, campaigned in the area. “We highlighted how the area failed to see any development in the last few years. The Congress failed to solve problems of people,” said a senior BJP leader. The party claimed that they will talk to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to solve vexatious issues. Parrikar was in Pune earlier and had talked about more consultations on cantonment-related issues.
