Amid allegations, civic issues take back seat in Jalandhar

Amid AAP patting its back for roping in the former Mayor, two Deputy Mayors and a set of robust former Congress councillors ahead of the MC elections in Jalandhar, and the Congress and BJP criticising AAP for its alleged "misuse of government machinery" and harassment meted out to their candidates, actual development has been a casualty ahead of the MC poll in Jalandhar.

The chopping of trees, reducing green cover due to colonisation and a plethora of highway and road projects, city AQI being at a consistent all-time low, tonnes of garbage and construction waste being dumped on the city plots and roadsides, worsening quality of water, huge traffic jams, depleting groundwater, sewage accumulation and bad sewers, encroachments, land grabs and land frauds have failed to be the key issues before the MC elections.

The hot discussions were allegations made against one another. While AAP alleged that the Congress had ususrped money and did not get any work done during its MC tenure, the BJP too accused the Congress of the same while alleging that AAP would not probe these charges as the former Mayor is now it's candidate. Meanwhile, the Congress accused AAP of failing to get any development work done during its 2.5 year tenure in the state. The Congress also accused AAP of harassing its candidates and posing obstructions to their candidatures.

The MC elections have also seen many ticket hopefuls, working for their parties for decades, shifting loyalties at the last moment. The irate workers' accusations of "selling tickets" against their own parties dominated social media.

While AAP faced ire from workers, the BJP expelled 19 of its leaders for anti-party activities.

Party dynamics

While the last MC House had a Congress majority, the result of the election tomorrow will be historic either way as it is for the first time that AAP is fighting a high-stake battle for the MC House in Jalandhar.