In Karnal, 11 of 20 elected councillors carry forward family legacy

Noteworthy victories

• Sudesh Rani’s victory (Ward 1) is particularly noteworthy
• In the last poll, her husband lost a tie-breaker decided by a coin toss
• This time, with the ward reserved for women, she contested and won
• Aashya Kumar, elected from Ward 10 as an Independent candidate, succeeded her father, former councillor Vir Vikram Kumar
• After the ward was reserved for women, Vikram sought a BJP ticket for his daughter, but was denied
• He then fielded her as an Independent candidate, and she won

Karnal’s newly elected Mayor Renu Bala Gupta is set to enter the House for her third consecutive term after securing a historic victory, the results of which was declared recently.

She shall witness major changes in the municipal House, with 16 out of 20 councillors being fresh faces.

Additionally, 11 councillors have carried forward their families’ political legacies. Paramjeet Singh Lather, elected as the Independent councillor from Ward 3, has replaced his wife, Manjeet Kaur, who served the previous term.

Similarly, Bhupender Notna, the newly elected councillor from Ward 4, succeeded his sister-in-law, Neelam Notna.

Independent candidate Ankit Titoria won the polls from Ward 6, following in the footsteps of his father, former councillor Vinod Titoria.

Sankalp Bhandari, elected unopposed from Ward 8, replaced his wife, Megha Bhandari, the previous councillor.

Sujata Arora has been elected from Ward 9, following in the footsteps of her brother-in-law, Mukesh Arora.

Aashya Kumar, elected from Ward 10 as an Independent candidate, succeeded her father, former councillor Vir Vikram Kumar.

After the ward was reserved for women, Vikram sought a BJP ticket for his daughter, but was denied.

He then fielded her as an Independent candidate, and she emerged victorious.

Monik Garg won Ward 12, previously held by his wife, Monika Garg.

His father has also served as a councillor from the ward, before being elected as the Senior Deputy Mayor.

Similarly, Priyanka Devi (Ward 15) succeeded her husband, former councillor Yudhvir Saini, while Rani (Ward 16) replaced her brother-in-law, Ram Chander Kala.

Two councillors hail from families with long-standing political influence.

Ish Gulati, re-elected from Ward 13, follows his father, Sudesh Gulati, who has served twice from the same ward.

Former Senior Deputy Mayor Rajesh Aghi, re-elected for a second consecutive term, comes from a political family — his father, Bhagwan Das Aghi, served four terms as councillor, while his wife Kumud Bala has also been a councillor.

Additionally, Joginder Sharma has been elected from Ward 7. He previously served as the councillor of a different ward.

Among the 20 councillors, 16 are first-timers — Sudesh Rani (Ward 1), Baby Pal (Ward 2), Paramjeet Lather (Ward 3), Bhupender Notna (Ward 4), Subhash Chand (Ward 5), Ankit Kumar (Ward 6), Sankalp Bhandari (Ward 8), Aashya Kumar (Ward 10), Sanjeev Mehta (Ward 11), Monik Garg (Ward 12), Amrit Lal Joshi (Ward 14), Priyanka Saini (Ward 15), Rani (Ward 16), Mamta Devi (Ward 17), Harjeet Singh (Ward 18), and Ram Sudhir (Ward 20). Sudesh Rani’s victory is particularly noteworthy. In the last election, her husband lost in a tie-breaker decided by a coin toss. This time, with the ward reserved for women, she contested and won.

In the House of 20 councillors, BJP has won 15 seats, while five Independent councillors have been elected.

The newly elected Mayor has made it clear that the overall development of the city was her main goal.