The Delhi municipal polls have become a matter of life and death for state Congress headman Ajay Maken. He is putting in his all to ensure that the Congress returns to power in the civic body polls. Sources say that party VP Rahul Gandhi has expressed his blind support in Maken’s abilities and the latter does not want to give it a lie. Maken is said to be taking measured steps all the time, so much so that he has rejected the candidature nominees even from the senior-most leaders. Those close to developments say that Maken has hired not just one or two, but three survey agencies. Their job it is to conduct surveys from time to time to seek correct pictures of the ground reality of the popularity of expectant candidates. He will then shortlist the names according to the ratings and send it up to 10 Janpath for finalisation of the names of actual candidates. The High Command will finally put the seal of approval. Maken’s tireless efforts to ensure victory are okay, but there have been very few so far who have been able to get a seismic measure of the mood of Delhi voters.