Chandigarh MC ward delimitation process to commence early next year

The State Election Commission is gearing up for the delimitation process of wards early next year. The elections for all 35 wards of the MC are slated for December next year.

According to officials, the delimitation exercise is required in view of the demolition of several slum clusters across the city. Residents of these “jhuggis” have shifted to other areas, prompting the need to revise the ward limits. “These colonies will now be excluded from the respective wards,” said an official, adding that the total number of wards will remain unchanged at 35.

The commission will also revise the reservation of wards for women and Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates as part of the exercise.

During the last MC elections in 2021, 16 wards were reserved for women and SC candidates. After a draw of lots conducted by the State Election Commission in October 2021, ward numbers 7, 24, 26 and 31 were reserved for SC candidates, while 16, 19 and 28 were reserved for women belonging to the SC category. Nine other wards — 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 18, 22 and 23 — were earmarked for women in the general category.

Following the merger of 13 villages with the MC in December 2018, the boundaries of several wards were altered. Ward number 10, comprising Sectors 27, 28 and 29, was reserved for a woman candidate (general category). Earlier, Sectors 27, 28 and 30 were part of ward number 18. Similarly, ward number 16, covering Sectors 20 and 33, was redesignated as ward number 18 and reserved for a woman (general category). Ward number 7— comprising Maloya, EWS Colony, Maloya, Sector 39 (West) and the grain market — was renumbered as ward 28 and reserved for a woman (SC) candidate. After the revision of ward numbers 4, 5 and 6 in Mani Majra, the area was reserved for women candidates (general category).

In the 2021 elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), contesting for the first time, emerged as the single largest party, winning 14 of the 35 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 12 wards, while the Congress won eight and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) managed just one.