Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Jan. 3: Elections to the 59-member Cuttack Municipal Corporation will be held on February 6.

The state election commission today announced the poll schedule for the corporation and the 28-member Baripada Municipality.

A formal notice will be issued on January 8, while nomination papers will be accepted between January 13 and 18. While the date of scrutiny of nomination papers is January 20, the candidates could withdraw their candidature by January 24. Polling will be held on February 6 and the counting will take place the next day.

Elections to the post of Cuttack mayor and Baripada Municipality chairperson would be held on February 13.

The Cuttack civic polls are considered significant as it will be held before the Assembly elections.

In February 2009, the BJD had wrested the corporation from the BJP by sweeping the polls with 41 per cent votes. Congress had a 23 per cent vote share, while BJP with 18 per cent votes came third.

In the previous municipal polls in 2003, the BJP had 18 councillors and had the support of 13 BJD members. The Congress had 14 in a house of 48 (54 after ward rejig for 2009 elections).

In the 2009 civic polls, the BJP was the prime loser with just two of the 54 wards in its kitty. The BJD captured 40, while Congress slipped to 8. The rest four were shared between the Independents (3) and Nationalist Congress Party (1).

The BJD’s unexpected revival signalled by two-third majority in the Cuttack civic polls established party president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s political authority besides making inroads into the BJP’s vote base in the city.

With creation of five new wards, the February 2014 elections will be held for 59 wards. The mayor’s post has been reserved for scheduled caste woman candidates.

While 30 wards have been reserved for women candidates, 17 have been reserved for general category women candidates, eight for backward class women candidates, four for scheduled caste women and one for scheduled tribe women.

Besides, eight are reserved for backward class members and three for scheduled caste members.

“People will vote taking into consideration the work that has been done in the city in the past five years. The BJD will retain the Cuttack Municipal Council as the party has been successful in carrying out a lot of development works,” mayor Saumendra Ghose told The Telegraph.

Implementation of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency-funded integrated sanitation project to give Cuttack state-of-the-art sewerage and drainage system to fix the age-old problems of temporary inundations during monsoon will understandably be in the forefront of the BJD’s civic poll serenade for votes.

However, the alleged embezzlement of relief materials meant for Phailin victims by BJD councillors is expected to be made a major issue against the ruling party by both the Congress and the BJP.

“We will vote taking into consideration the work the elected representatives have done in our area in the past five years,” said a city resident.

“The common man’s satisfaction with the functioning of the civic body, especially in ensuring civic amenities such as proper roads, drainage, sanitation, etc vis-à-vis clean image will be a decisive factor in the ensuing polls,” said Satyajit Roy, a resident of Bidanasi.

At a glance

No. of Cuttack wards: 59
No. of booths: 422
No. of voters: 394,810
Seats reserved for women: 30
Mayor post reserved for scheduled caste women