Jalandhar, December (Parteek Singh): The three Municipal Corporations(MC) Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala and 32 councils are up for elections in the state. The political atmosphere has seen a turn around as no state-level campaign is run by any party in Municipal elections and all the senior leaders of the parties are staying away from the elections. The poll campaign is going on at ward level by candidates and there is no major strategy chalked down by any party. It has already announced that star campaigner of Congress Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh will not participate in election campaign and Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal who has always marked his presence in civic polls is also giving a miss to MC elections, Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Majithia has only participated in Malanwala protest, but there is no poll campaign done by them as well, so big guns of Punjab politics will not burst in this polls.
The prominent leaders of the poll bound municipalities staying away from the elections and state level leaders are also missing from the political ground. The Cabinet Minister Aruna Chaudhary who was given the responsibility of Jalandhar MC has only visited once in Jalandhar. The absent senior leaders include Member Parliament(MP), Jalandhar, Santokh Chaudhary and Ex-MP Mohinder Kaypee. The Congress seems very confident to win civic polls. The Congress district President(Urban) Daljit Singh Ahluwalia said Congress will win with huge margin in civic polls and Mayor will be from Congress, on absence of state leaders he said civic polls are a local affair so there it is not required. On the other hand SAD-BJP are contesting with least enthusiasm, the civic poll campaign of both the parties did not took-off yet. The situation is same there as well no senior leader is participating in the campaign even the candidates are looking sluggish. The poll campaign of AAP seems dead as they failed to even field candidates on all the wards of MC and none of the top leaders appeared before people as they have always said they will reach people always.