Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 7 Dec: City Congress Committee (CCC) chairman Yumlam Achung has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of luring candidates to secure seats without any contest in the upcoming panchayat and municipal elections.
“The way the BJP is playing politics by paying money or extending favours such as chairmanship (of various departments) and negotiating to win unopposed is not acceptable in a democratic country,” he said.
Stating that all political parties should participate in the elections, and that the people would decide who they want to vote for, Achung claimed to have “noticed that some candidates are being offered money or the position of chairman.”
While he did not reveal names, he said, “Many seats in the panchayat election are uncontested and you will see a few people getting appointed as chairmen soon. The young leaders should not fall for such political tactics and avoid making such deals,” he said.
He also clarified rumours doing the rounds that the Congress candidate for Ward No 17 under the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) compromised his candidature.
“Today was the last date of withdrawal, and our candidate is still in the race. I will never encourage my candidates
to withdraw their candidature or compromise with others. The Congress is fielding very few candidates this time, but we will give a strong fight,” Achung said.
In the IMC election, the Congress is fielding three candidates, in Wards 3, 16 and 17.