With just two weeks remaining until the crucial civic elections, the political atmosphere in Kolhapur has intensified as candidates across wards have officially launched their door-to-door campaigning efforts. The race for the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC), which is being held after a decade-long gap, has kicked into high gear.
Campaign Kick-off with Divine Blessings and Voter Assurances
The campaign activities gained momentum on Thursday, with numerous candidates initiating their electoral outreach. A significant number of them first visited the revered Mahalaxmi Temple to seek divine blessings before embarking on their voter-contact missions. The candidates are focusing their pitches on local infrastructure and service delivery issues, making direct promises to the electorate.
Their assurances primarily revolve around constructing quality roads, ensuring timely garbage collection, installing adequate streetlights within their wards, and resolving other persistent problems faced by residents. The campaigning style varies across the city's landscape. In affluent neighborhoods like Tarabai Park, Ruikar Colony, and Takala, candidates and their supporters are often seen arriving in convoys of vehicles before fanning out to connect with voters.
Political Maneuvering and Nomination Withdrawals
Behind the public-facing campaigns, intense political negotiations are underway. Major political parties are actively engaged in convincing rebel candidates to withdraw their nominations, offering assurances of a promising future within the party fold. This strategy saw immediate results, as on Thursday alone, 48 candidates who had filed nomination papers for the KMC elections retracted their forms.
An interesting trend emerged, revealing that many of these withdrawn nominations were filed by family members of the main candidates. These were primarily alternate or backup nominations submitted as a safety net. The tactic was designed to protect the candidate's chances in case their original nomination form faced disqualification during the official scrutiny process.
Voices from the Campaign Trail
Nilambari Girish Salokhe, the Mahayuti alliance candidate from Ward No. 11 A, shared insights into the campaign's progression. "We started the door-to-door campaigning from today (Thursday)," Salokhe stated. She added that the unofficial groundwork for the elections began much earlier, during the Ganeshotsav festival period. Highlighting the public sentiment, she noted, "The municipal corporation elections are taking place after 10 years; hence, there is excitement among the voters too."
The path is notably more challenging for independent candidates and those who rebelled after being denied party tickets. Former corporator Rahul Chavan, who is now contesting as an independent from Ward No. 14 after rebelling against Shiv Sena, outlined his constraints. "After getting the election symbol as an independent in the next two days, I will have only about 10 days for campaigning," Chavan explained. He acknowledged the difficulty, stating, "It will be a challenge to reach out to maximum voters." To overcome the time crunch, he plans to leverage social media platforms to remind voters of his work during his previous term as a corporator.
As the clock ticks down to election day, the combination of traditional grassroots campaigning, political bargaining, and modern digital outreach is defining the battle for Kolhapur's civic body, setting the stage for a closely watched electoral contest.
