GANDHINAGAR, SEPT 4: The coming municipal and panchayat elections later this month are going to be the first real test of the popularity of the BJP government in Gujarat. Although Lok Sabha elections were held last year, these were contested mainly on national issues and the BJP had increased its tally of seats.In the panchayat and municipal elections, the issues are naturally going to be local. The BJP, which controls most of the local bodies whose term will end, is seeking votes on the basis of its ``performance''. Elections are being contested on party symbols and the top leadership of the BJP is fully involved in selection of candidates and planning strategies.Although both the BJP and Congress are plagued with discontent over the distribution of tickets, the BJP seems to be better organised. Also, there have been no open faction fights of the kind which led to the rejection of nomination papers of around 30 Congress candidates during the Surat Municipal Corporation elections recently, when bitter fights had ensured that the latter did not get party authority letters in time.But, at the same time, the BJP's image has been soiled by its inept handling of the drought situation and the fact that it has failed to maintain basic civic amenities. The BJP had attracted much criticism for gross irregularities in relief works and the drinking water shortage in the summer, particularly in rural areas.The Congress is hoping that all this, plus the incumbency factor, will work against the BJP. But the party remains riven by dissension, with the various factions working at cross-purposes. While the BJP has already organised rallies in important cities, the Congress is yet to mount a visible election campaign. Thanks to the mess in the Congress, the BJP appears already assured of a victory in at least the Surat Municipal Corporation.However, the BJP is facing an uphill task in Vadodara, where around 30 rebels are in the fray. The party's lacklustre performance here will make the party's going tough. In Bhavnagar, Minister for Cultural Affairs Mahendra Trivedi does not get along well with colleague Purshottam Solanki and state BJP chief Rajendrasinh Rana.In Ahmedabad, the BJP can claim to have eased the water shortage by executing the Raska Wier pipeline project, but the flash floods which played havoc in July exposed the mismanagement of the drainage system. Then there are the mushrooming illegal constructions and encroachments, which the BJP-controlled municipal corporation has not done anything about.
