April 29 is a day that both the BJP and the Congress leaderships in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation are hoping works out in their favour. The mayoral election scheduled for that day is seeing a keen contest this time, even though the BJP incumbent, Sarita Choudhary, won with a comfortable margin last year.
Both parties are playing the numbers game by trying to win over Independents with back-room talks and bargaining chips. The BJP, which has 42 councillors in the House, needs nine more to get a majority of the 101 members.
A BJP leader said the party will be able to get “at least 57 votes”. “We already have the support of the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Indian National Lok Dal and the Nationalist Congress Party.”
In the running for the post of Mayor are the BJP’s Khushi Ram, the Congress’ Dharamveer Singh and the NCP’s Jeevan Lal and Phool Kali.
On the NCP candidates filing nominations, the BJP leader said: “These are just arm-twisting tactics because they want a post in one of the committees.”
The BJP leader added that since the NCP candidates “are controlled by (former MLA) Ramvir Singh Bidhuri”, who joined the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections last year, they would support the party in the mayoral poll.
“They have been functioning as the BJP workers since then, so we don’t take their nominations seriously,” said the BJP leader.
The Congress, however, was confident of giving the BJP a close fight. The party has 37 councillors and is hoping to swing some of the Independent votes. “The key of the SDMC is with the Independents,” a senior Congress leader said.
The leader said the BSP councillors were a divided lot, with the incumbent Deputy Mayor, Sahi Ram, joining the Aam Aadmi Party. “We are expecting him to support us. The fact that the NCP councillors have filed their nominations means that they are not with the BJP,” he added.
The fact that MPs also have a vote in the election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor will favour the Congress.
The party’s MPs – Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit, Mahabal Mishra and Ramesh Kumar – will give the Congress another four votes.
While attempts to sway votes will be on till the day before elections, the SDMC is all set for a pitched battle.
