Karnal MC poll: BJP shortlists six women for Mayor’s post

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, November 23

With the announcement of December 16 as the date for the Municipal Corporation (MC) election, all political parties here seem to be in top gear.

The ruling BJP has shortlisted six names for the post of the Mayor (reserved for women candidates), while the INLD and the Congress have started the process to shortlist their candidates.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is likely to hold a meeting of the party workers on Saturday in Karnal to take a feedback about the probable candidates. The names of the candidates are expected to be announced on Sunday by his party.

Sources in the BJP say the party district unit has shortlisted six names, former Mayor Renu Bala Gupta, former Senior Deputy Mayor Krishan Garg’s daughter-in-law Monika Garg, former district president Ashok Sukhija’s daughter-in-law Dipti Sukhija, district president Jagmohan Anand’s wife Rekha Anand, former councillor Sujata Arora and Sonia Pandit. Besides, the party has sent five to six names in each ward for the post of councillor.

Jagmohan Anand, district president, BJP, said they had shortlisted the names and had sent these to the state party chief Subhash Barala for the final declaration. The party leadership would announce the final names in a couple of days.

He maintained that the CM would come to Karnal on Saturday to hold an important meeting with the party workers about the corporation elections.

“Karnal is the constituency of the CM, so all workers will make their full efforts to win all 20 seats of councillors and also that of the Mayor,” the district president maintained.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Mayor Manoj Wadhwa’s wife Asha Wadhwa has also started campaigning as an Independent candidate. However, Manoj is associated with the INLD and had contested the last Assembly elections against the Chief Minister on the INLD ticket, but so far, his wife is seeking votes as an independent candidate.

INLD district president Yashvir Rana said they would hold a meeting of the party workers in a couple of days to finalise the names of the Mayor as well as the councillors. “We will contest the election on the party symbol,” he said.

Former district youth Congress president Pankaj Gaba’s wife Shikha Gaba, former Congress district working president Ashok Khurana’s-daughter-in-law Priyanka Khurana, women Congress state general secretary Navneet Kaur Bedi, former councillor Usha Tuli, are among the ticket aspirants for the post of the Mayor from the Congress.