In poll mode, Sena-BJP returns to ‘Sambhajinagar’ issue again, AMC Election 2015,Aurangabad Municipal Corporation,Civic poll 2015
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- Category: Maharashtra Political News
- Last Updated: Monday, 30 March 2015 12:30
In poll mode, Sena-BJP returns to ‘Sambhajinagar’ issue again
AURANGABAD: Setting aside the pathetic condition of civic amenities in the city, the 25-year-old BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is once again relaying on the old issue of renaming the city to 'Sambhajinagar'. The alliance has been lobbying hard for many years for changing the city's name - a move seen as polarising the voters on communal lines.
Over the years, the alliance has been bringing the issue to the forefront during the municipal polls but skips it during Lok Sabha and state assembly polls.
Kishore Nagre, Shiv Sena leader of the house in the AMC, said the issue will remain at the top of the agenda. "We have launched water distribution project under the public-private participation model, built many white topping roads and also started work on upgradation of drainage project during our tenure. People are satisfied with it and these issues are not going to take centre stage. But a change in the name of the city has a lot more to do with the people. It is a matter of pride and dignity and people from all corners of the city wish to see the change. In the past, the people had voted in favour of the Sena-BJP alliance for the cause and we hope they will once again express faith in us."
Nagre further said, "The alliance had been fighting for the cause for many years but the previous governments at the Centre and the state were not responding. But now we have our governments at the Centre and the state and so we can achieve the goal."
On two occasions the civic general body had passed resolutions for changing the name of the city to Sambhajinagar.
BJP's state spokesperson Shirish Boralkar also said that Sambhajinagar is an emotional issue of the citizens and the BJP supports it. "However, we will also give weightage to development of various civic amenities," he added.
Political observers, meanwhile, said that the alliance, which had failed to stand up to the expectations of the people in the past 25 years, has nothing to highlight. "The city roads are bad, water scarcity has worsened and the drainage line is leaking. People may not vote in favour of the alliance on the basis of the developmental issues and thus the parties have no other option but to carry forwards its old formula," they said.
In the backdrop of the increased popularity of the MIM in the region, especially after the party won one assembly seat from the city, the Sena-BJP alliance is leaving no stone unturned to attract voters on communal lines and the 'Sambhajinagar' card is one of the tried and trusted tools for it.
src:timesofindia