CPM supporters campaign in Ashok Nagar for the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation polls. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 31: At a time when the big parties are concentrating on their campaigns for the municipal corporation polls in the posh areas, the smaller players are focusing on the outskirts and semi-developed areas.

The only state party in the fray, the BJD, has fielded candidates in all the 67 wards.

However, the BJP and the Congress have fielded candidates in 66 and 62 wards, respectively.

The number of candidates fielded by other national parties such as Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is between one and five.

“We are targeting the 2014 general elections. We have fielded five candidates this time to make our presence felt among the voters of the city,” said BSP state office secretary P.K. Jena.

CPM Bhubaneswar district secretary Suresh Panigrahi said: “The city has been divided into two zones. While one zone in the central part with all civic amenities, many areas in the suburbs are still deprived of good roads, sewerage, drinking water and street lights. We will make the voters aware of this aspect.”

Some other smaller parties of the state such as Utkal Bharat, Samruddha Odisha and Kalinga Sena are also contesting the corporation polls. Utkal Bharat president M.A. Kharabela Swain said: “We are fighting the polls in 12 wards where we have strength. Our candidates are contesting without use of money power. We hope that sensitive voters in the state capital will appreciate our gesture and elect our candidates.”

Samruddha Odisha has fielded five candidates and Kalinga Sena one.

The Odisha Jan Morcha could not field any candidate because their symbol, kite, was not allowed by the state election commission.

While candidates of the six national parties and the BJD can use their official party symbols, others will fight with symbols chosen from the 24 allocated by the election commission.

A total of 232 party candidates and 161 Independents are in the fray, said election officer-cum-additional district magistrate Manoj Kumar Patnaik.