Bharatiya Janata Party, which is emerging as a winner in most municipalities unopposed, on Thursday released the manifesto for the civic polls beginning October 8.
“Our candidates will be focusing on establishment of the smart city, ensuring street lights and other basic facilities,” BJP state spokesperson Altaf Thakur said while releasing the manifesto at a press conference along with other BJP functionaries.
Saying the people had “responded massively for BJP”, the functionaries claimed the BJP would register “overwhelming victory” in all municipalities.
The manifesto promises that BJP would look into streamlining sanitation and garbage disposal, thus “promoting the concept of Smart Cities”.
It said priority would be accorded to maintaining lanes and drains properly, ensuring installation of street lights, including strategic lighting if needed, in the wards.
The manifesto reads that BJP would provide suitable employment by easing the licence system needed for small businesses, work toward making building permission for commercial and residential areas hassle free by simplifying the procedures required and work to convert all centrally-sponsored projects into reality for the benefit of the people.
It further stated that the BJP would work for promoting health facilities, like evening clinics, for the citizens and also promote the concept of having toilets in the wards, which would in turn boost the Open-Defecation-Free state mission.
10 BJP candidates quit
Meanwhile, BJP in-charge for Dooru-Verinag area and nine other candidates of the party on Thursday withdrew their nominations for the upcoming municipal polls.
Ghulam Hassan Bhat, who was BJP’s key person for Dooru-Verinag area, told Greater Kashmir that he gave up his basic membership of the party.
A resident of Dooru town, Bhat joined the BJP soon after his retirement as a Range Officer a few years ago.
He blamed the party for “deceiving people by making fake promises”.
“Nine other BJP members who were contesting the elections from nine other wards also withdrew their nominations,” an official said.
Dooru-Verinag municipal segment of Anantnag district is scheduled to go for polls in the fourth phase on October 16.
Congress has fielded candidates in all 17 designated wards.
“Fourteen BJP candidates had also filed nominations. Ten of them withdrew nomination today. So only three candidates from the party, two of them Kashmiri Pandit migrants, are in fray,” an official said.
October 5 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations for the fourth phase.
“The field is now open for Congress who are likely to get elected unopposed from Dooru-Verinag municipality,” the official said.
Dooru-Verinag is the home constituency of state Congress chief GA Mir who had been elected from this assembly segment twice in succession—2002 and 2008. In 2014, he lost to Farooq Andrabi, brother-in-law of former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Saeed.
Meanwhile, unknown persons set ablaze harvested crop of BJP candidate Gul Muhamnad Khan at Mandipora, Dooru.
BJP is likely to walk away with majority of municipal seats in southern Kashmir as major political parties have boycotted polls.