Displaced bigwigs seek ‘safe’ seats

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 19

BJP and Congress bigwigs, who were displaced from their sitting wards after the reservation of wards for the MC poll, are searching for ‘safe’ seats to contest the elections to be held on December 18.

Former Mayor and Congress councillor Subhash Chawla, whose Ward No. 5 was reserved for SC women candidate in the reservation of wards, is now planning to contest from Ward No. 16 (Sectors 20 and 33) or Ward No. 19 (Sector 26 and Bapu Dham colony). In both these seats, the Congress did not have any strong candidate to field against BJP candidates. Chawla’s supporters in these wards have already started contacting local residents.

Similarly, former Mayor and Congress councillor from Ward No. 7, Poonam Sharma, whose ward is reserved for an SC candidate, is now planning to contest from Ward No. 4 (Sectors 23, 24 and 36). In the last MC poll in 2011, she had lost from this ward to sitting BJP councillor Asha Kumari Jaswal. Later in the 2012 by-election, Poonam Sharma had won from Ward No. 7.

Sitting Congress councillor from Ward No. 17 Mukesh Bassi, whose ward is reserved for women candidate, has not applied for the ticket. However, sources revealed that the party is considering his name from Ward No. 18 (Sectors 27, 28 and 30) and Ward No. 21 (Sectors 32 and 46).

In the BJP, sitting BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi’s Ward No. 2 was also reserved for a woman (General) candidate in the draw of lots.

The sources revealed that the party can field Joshi from Ward No. 3 (Sectors 16, 17 and 22) against Congress president Pardeep Chhabra’s family. Chhabra, a three-time councillor is not contesting this time as he is holding the post of the party president. But the sources revealed that Chhabra would field his wife Ritu Chhabra from Ward No. 3, which is Congress’s stronghold.

Joshi family is also trying for the BJP ticket for Saurabh’s wife Neha Joshi from Ward No. 2.

BSP leader Jannat Jahan Ul Haq, sitting councillor from Ward No. 23, whose ward was also reserved for SC candidate, is planning to contest from Ward No. 24 (Mauli Jagran) in the upcoming MC poll.