BJP candidate loses market panel election

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 14

Sunil Gupta of the BJP lost to Sukhvinder Singh Kala of the Congress in the election to the post of vice-chairman of the Market Committee here.

Gupta was defeated even as his party has the majority in the nine-member committee. The Congress has only two members on the panel while there are seven BJP-backed directors.

Devinder Singh Babla, Congress councillor and a director of the committee, said Kala’s election was a big victory for the Congress. He said BJP infighting led to its candidate’s defeat.

The post was vacated after Gurpreet Singh Dhillon resigned on June 7 this year.

The elections to the two top posts —chairman and vice-chairman — of the market committee has always had a political importance as the Congress and the BJP slug it out to wrest control of the body which manages the committee with a budget of over Rs 10 crores. The Market Committee goes to the polls every three years.