BJP decides to nominate 15
new candidates
For
five years they enjoyed power and media attention by virtue of being
in the public life. With just four days remaining to file nomination
papers for the VMC election, tension is palpable among the 55 former
BIP councilors, as most are unsure whether they will be able to carry
forward authority and power for the next five years.
The final list of candidates
is likely to be announced by the BJP only on August 25, on the eve of
filing papers, and the party's intention of fielding at least 15 new
candidates has added to the woes of former corporators.
The most worried lot is
that of the former women councilors for there are chances of at least
five of them being replaced by new faces. The change will come into
effect considering performances of each candidate in the last VMC board.
Bringing a better candidate is also one of the criteria.
The uncertainty can be
gauged from the statement made by a former mayor about his prospects.
Till date I am not sure whether I will be a candidate in the forthcoming
elections, he said in a lighter vein. You never know when the axe will
fall, says a former first citizen requesting anonymity. There even have
been reports of former women corporators keeping busy in household chores
to avoid news articles in vernacular press about potential candidates
lest they are left out.
There are others who have
accepted the fact that ultimately it is the party leadership that decides
their fate.
All these years, the party
has taken the decision on its own, a former councilor said adding that
a few are mentally preparing themselves to get tickets in some other
wards to make way for family members of party leaders.
Sources say that irrespective
of the tensions that the former councilors are undergoing, a silver
lining for the party is that even if they are not given tickets, the
chances of a large number of them filing papers as Independents are
remote.
