December 16 Polling day

December 6 was the last day of filing nominations. In all, 621 candidates are in fray for the MC elections in Karnal, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Rohtak and Hisar.

Panipat 

• Former Mayor Bhupender Singh’s daughter Avneet Kaur (25) succeeded in getting the ticket for the Mayor’s post among eight aspirants.
• “I am a daughter of Panipat. Its residents are showering me with blessings, praying for my win. I am confident of my win because all BJP leaders are supporting me,” she said.
• Former councillor Dushyant Bhatt also filed his nomination from ward 25. He had demanded the ticket for the mayoral post for his wife Kusum Bhatt, but MLAs Rohita Rewri and Mahipal Dhanda opposed her candidature, sources said. 

Yamunanagar

• Rakesh Sharma ‘Kaka’, who was earlier supported by local Congress leaders, and BJP’s Madan Chauhan filed their nominations for the Mayor’s post on Thursday.
• BSP’s Sandeep Kumar Goyal (candidate of the INLD-BSP alliance) had filed his nomination on Wednesday.
• Sharma said, “I will fight the elections on the development agenda. I will turn the twin cities into developed ones if I am voted to power.”

Hisar

• BJP’s nominee Gautam Sardana and his main rival Rekha Aren, backed by Congress leaders Savitri Jindal and Kuldeep Bishnoi, were among 19 candidates who filed their papers on Thursday 
• State BJP president Subhash Barala, local MLA Kamal Gupta accompanied Sardana to the returning officer’s office to file the nomination, while confidants of Jindal and Bishnoi accompanied Aren