By Sunil Sonker
Mussoorie, 1 Nov: After the Urban Development Minister announced that elections will be held by 25 December to the municipalities in Uttarakhand, the candidates have started preparing. In Mussoorie, the candidates for the post of President have begun their campaign on Diwali. President of Mussoorie Traders’ Welfare Association, Rajat Agarwal, who has recently joined the BJP, along with his workers, went from shop to shop with drums from Tehri bus stand to Gandhi Chowk and wished people on the occasion. Former Municipal Chairman Manmohan Singh Mall, a senior Congress leader, also went from shop to shop with Congress workers playing traditional hill drums and wished the people. Congress workers were seen performing traditional dances and Tandi at the main square. Senior BJP leader and former Municipal Chairman OP Uniyal displayed his simplicity and went from shop to shop and wished people a Happy Diwali. On the other hand, the contenders for the post of Chairman and Councillor organised parties in the streets and neighbourhoods to celebrate the festival of Diwali.
The people of Mussoorie believe that in the name of Diwali, the contenders for the post of Chairman and Councillor in the Municipal Council elections, have started the work of seeking votes. Those who have not done any work in the social sector are today coming forward as the biggest well-wishers of society. Many people are trying to lure people by spending lakhs of rupees. But it will be interesting to see whom the people of Mussoorie give their blessings to in the upcoming municipal elections and whether the work done by the public representatives who had previously occupied the seats of Municipal Chairman and Councillors are appreciated or bets are placed on new faces.
According to local experts, the voters of Mussoorie will also have to pay attention to how the candidates who had become Chairman or Councillor in the past have played their role in the development of Mussoorie. Did they serve the interests of their relatives and themselves and not the public? The people of Mussoorie will also have to pay attention to what work has been done on the ground for development by the public representatives who had talked big at the time of elections in the past.
