Good quality drinking water and proper drainage top the list of residents' demands at Manali municipality. Not surprisingly, the election manifestos of the candidates also centre on these demands in the coming civic polls. The Manali local body, which was recently upgraded to a third grade municipality, has 147 candidates contesting in 18 wards. The local body witnessed an increase in contestants for these civic polls compared to previous elections. Similarly, independent candidates make up a high percentage of those in the fray, which appears to be typical of several suburbs in these polls. About 22,000 people would be casting their votes in 26 booths.