Chief minister Naveen Patnaik campaigns in Cuttack on Tuesday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Feb. 4: The municipal corporation elections set for Thursday have not only heralded the poll season, but also put to test the strength and weaknesses of all major political parties ahead of the general elections.

The 59 wards in the Cuttack Municipal Corporation area are spread across three Assembly segments — Barabati Cuttack (31), Choudwar Cuttack (22) and Sadar Cuttack (6) under the Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency.

As the urban polls in Cuttack are possibly the last elections before the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, all political parties have made every effort to bag as many wards as possible in Cuttack.

“For every party, including the fledgling Odisha Jana Morcha and the Ama Odisha, which have an eye on general elections, this is going to be the litmus test,” said a senior BJD leader. He conceded that the Cuttack Municipal Corporation polls were being seen as a referendum on the performance of the Naveen Patnaik government.

In 2009, the BJD won from 37 of 54 wards. The ruling party has been upbeat after the thumping victory (49 of 67) in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation elections and is confident to retain the Cuttack Municipal Corporation council as well.

“The BJD will better its performance and form the municipal council again by capturing more votes,” said Barabati Cuttack MLA Debashis Samantaray, who is also the party general secretary. He said: “The public image of Naveen Patnaik and the performance of his government is our biggest strength.”

The Congress, on the other hand, is hopeful of cashing in on the alleged failure of the BJD-ruled municipal council on all fronts – sanitation, road condition, drainage and mosquito control.

“We hope to bag more wards and form the municipal council this time riding a wave of anti-incumbency,” city Congress committee president Md Moquim said.

After a Congress majority council (21 of 35 wards) in 1997, the party could win from only 14 of 48 wards in the next polls. In 2009, the party’s position slipped to eight of 54 wards while trailing in second position in 22 wards. The Congress is contesting from 58 wards this time, because the party candidate had withdrawn from one ward on personal grounds.

For the BJP, the urban polls in Cuttack have turned into a battle for survival. In 2003, the BJP had won in 16 of 48 wards and formed the municipal council in alliance with the BJD.

In 2009, the BJP was the prime loser with a share of just two of 54 wards. Since then, the party organisation had practically become defunct. But, the party hopes to improve its tally of wards this time. BJP leaders are pinning their hopes on the 15 wards, where the BJP had come second. “It will be a vote against a non-performing BJD-ruled municipal council,” said BJP state vice-president and former minister Samir Dey. The party’s state general secretary Nayan Kishore Mohanty echoed the same.

The fledgling parties — Pyari Mohan Mohapatra’s Odisa Jana Morcha and Soumya Ranjan Patnaik’s Ama Odisha — are understandably testing political waters in Cuttack city ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

While the Odisha Jana Morcha fighting with the kite symbol has fielded candidates in 22 wards, the Ama Odisha, which is yet to get a symbol, is backing Independent candidates in 35 wards.