Crucial Delhi Cant Board elections tomorrow

New Delhi, May 17 (UNI) The crucial elections to the Delhi Cantonment Board, where arch rivals Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party are pitted against each other, will be held tomorrow.

The elections are a run up to the Assembly elections to the Delhi legislative assembly slated later this year. Though the agenda for the Cantonment Board elections is very localised, the two parties are using the occasion to attack each other for the eight-member body as their stakes ahead of the Assembly elections are high.

Elections to the cantonment board is being held after a gap of 11 years. Both the parties have announced eight candidates each for as many Board seats.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president J P Agarwal said his party had an edge over its rivals in the forthcoming election as Congress had carried out a ''more serious'' effort for the betterment of the electorate.

''They (BJP) only believe in talking and making wild allegations... we believe in hard ground work aimed to help the commonman,'' he said.

He went on to charge BJP's Delhi unit chief Dr Harshvardhan with making no sincere effort to help the people. ''All they can do is sit on a fast-unto-death and have a glass of juice before photographers the next day,'' he said.

The BJP on its part alleged that Congress had put up a nominated member on its own, who had usurped power of all the eight candidates of the Board and ruled unscruplously for last so many years without the people's mandate.

''The elections are a result of our efforts,'' said Dr Harshvardhan.

Mr Agarwal said BJP was in power at the Centre for six years.

''Why did they not take actions,'' he said adding that ''it is easy to level charges but very hard to take action.'' UNI NAB SP HS1922