Draw conducted for reservation of wards under Karnal MC

The draw for the reservation of wards for the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) was conducted on Saturday at the mini-secretariat. Out of the total 20 wards, three have been reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), two for Backward Classes-A and one for Backward Classes-B. Four wards have been reserved for women open category and the remaining 10 are for general open category.

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The authorities claimed that the process was carried out transparently, ensuring compliance with the Haryana Municipal Act. Videography of the whole process was also conducted.

The draw process was conducted in the presence of the ad-hoc committee constituted by the state government for the delimitation of wards under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh, who is also chairman of the committee. KMC Commissioner Vaishali Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Yash Jaluka, former Mayor Renu Bala Gupta and other members also participated in the draw.

As per the draw, Wards 1, 6 and 14 have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC), out of which Ward-1 is reserved for SC (woman).

Wards 7 and 2 have been reserved for Backward Classes-A (BC-A), of which ward-2 has been reserved for BC-A (woman). Ward-17 has been reserved for BC-B (woman). Wards 9,10,15 and 16 have been reserved for woman from the open category. Wards 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20 have been kept open and anyone can contest from these wards.

DC Uttam Singh said that the reservation process was conducted as per the guidelines to ensure fair representation of all sections of society. He emphasised the administration’s commitment to transparency in the electoral process. “The ad-hoc committee conducted the draw in a completely transparent manner, ensuring videography of the entire process,” he said.

Former Mayor Renu Bala Gupta, who is also a member of the committee, also claimed that the whole process was transparent.

With the draw process, political parties and independent candidates are now gearing up for the upcoming municipal elections. However, the draw has shattered the dreams of some of the former councillors who were planning to contest this time too. The ward of former Deputy Mayor and BJP leader Naveen Kumar, former councillor Mukesh Arora, former councillor Vir Vikram Kumar have been reserved for woman category.

A couple of other aspirants said that the draw process had left them disappointed as reservation of their wards had changed the game. “I was preparing to contest the elections, but the draw has crushed my dreams as it has now been reserved for women,” said an aspirant.

Ramesh Midha, an aspirant for the post of councillor, expressed happiness on the draw process. Similarly, Ish Gulati, former councillor, also echoed the same sentiments.