Mayoral polls in 3 MCs next week, lobbying on

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 20

The stage is set to elect mayors of three municipal corporations — Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala. With MLAs and ministers vying with each other to get their “loyalists” as leaders the local bodies, the elections are likely to expose the ruling party as a divided house.

Mayoral elections in the three corporations are scheduled in the coming week. Amritsar will get its local body head on January 23, while Jalandhar and Patiala on January 25. Four ministers have been deputed by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to talk to the councillors and decide on “consensus candidates” for the posts of mayor, deputy mayor and senior deputy mayor.

Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa will over see the elections in Amritsar; Minister of State for Education Aruna Chaudhary Jalandhar; and Health Minister Brahm Mohindra and Forest Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot will oversee the process in Patiala.

Sources said almost all MLAs and councillors had passed resolutions, authorising the CM to take a final call on these important posts in each corporation. The CM will be taking the decision on Monday, a day before the process begins. Hectic lobbying is thus on within the party, with all aspirants pulling all possible strings and using caste, religion and gender card to their advantage.

Other than those who served as leader of opposition in the corporations in the previous term, relatives of ministers/senior MLAs and local MP (in Amritsar) are in the fray.

The elections were thus held back till some consensus was arrived. It is only after the meeting between Amarinder and PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar with Congress president Rahul Gandhi earlier this week that it has been decided to elect the mayors and other office-bearers.

Though initially there was some talk of MLAs being elected as mayors in all three corporations, it was shot down.