Panipat MC elections: 14 file nomination for councillor posts, no mayoral candidate yet

The mini secretariat in Panipat was bustling with electoral activity today as 13 candidates filed their nominations for the upcoming municipal corporation polls. However, no candidate has filed papers for the mayoral post so far.

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Ruling party mayoral candidate Komal Saini is expected to file her nomination on Tuesday, accompanied by 10 councillor candidates. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini will also be present during Komal Saini’s nomination filing.

BJP candidates, along with Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda, senior party leaders, and their supporters, reached the mini secretariat to submit their papers. Two Independent candidates also filed their nominations today.

The BJP has dropped around 19 former councillors this time, leading some to contest independently. Among them is Anjali Sharma, former BJP councillor and daughter of senior BJP leader Harish Sharma, who filed her nomination as an Independent from Ward 4.

Shakuntla Garg, another former BJP councillor, has also decided to contest against the BJP’s official nominee. Similarly, former councillor Ashok Chhabra has announced his intention to contest from Ward 17, while Attar Singh Rawal, another ex-BJP councillor, has fielded his daughter-in-law, Priyanka Rawal, from Ward 16.

Despite the BJP kick-starting its nomination process and setting up election offices in various wards, the main opposition party, Congress, is yet to announce its candidates for the mayoral and councillor posts.

Sources in the Congress said the candidate list is nearly finalised. However, with only two days — February 25 and February 27 —remaining for filing nominations, party aspirants are growing increasingly anxious.

In a major setback for the Congress, former councillor Sunil Verma, a close aide of Congress leader Varinder Kumar Shah, joined the BJP on Sunday evening along with his supporters. The switch took place in the presence of former MP Sanjay Bhatia, MLA Pramod Vij and BJP district president Dushyant Bhatt. Verma has also pledged his support to BJP candidate Neha Sharma.

Braham Prakash, SDM and Returning Officer, confirmed that 14 candidates have so far filed nominations for councillor posts while no nomination has yet been received for the mayoral post.