Ahmedabad: With temperatures climbing in the city, candidates contesting the upcoming Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections are facing an unusual challenge: convincing voters to step out in the heat and actually vote.Voting for the AMC general elections is scheduled for April 26. Candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and several independents are in the fray across 48 wards, where the contest in most areas is expected to be a three-way fight.But the summer heat has added an extra layer of anxiety for all parties. Candidates are worried that high temperatures will keep voters indoors, and that some may use the long weekend to head out of the city on vacation. To counter this, the BJP has released a video clip on social media, urging residents not to let the heat keep them indoors and stop them from voting. Candidates and party leaders across the board are sharing similar video messages through WhatsApp statuses.The heat has also forced a rethink in how campaigns are being run. Door-to-door canvassing during afternoons has been replaced by morning and evening rounds. Public meetings and group interactions are now being scheduled at night to avoid the worst of the heat.With polling just days away, the race is no longer just between candidates, it’s also against the weather.
