The police have made elaborate security arrangements for free and fair elections. Of these 2,816 booths have been identified as sensitive, while 2,068 have been identified highly sensitive booths. The services of about 34,000 personnel including 412 election officers is being used in the elections. All the major parties Congress, BJP and Janata Dal have fielded candidates and a tough fight is in the offing among these parties.
Many independent candidates are also in the fray.
For the ruling Congress in the State, winning the election has become a prestige issue. All the Cabinet ministers are camping at the district headquarters and overseeing the campaiging work. The Congress which romped home triumphantly with a majority in the taluk and zilla panchayat elections is confident that they would be successful in the elections to the urban local bodies. The BJP which was relegated to the fourth position in the zilla and talul panchayat elections is attempting to consolidate its position this time. It has fielded candidates in 1,657 wards and hopes to win all of them.