Political heat builds up as Sirsa prepares for Municipal Council elections
As the Haryana Government has announced elections for the civic bodies in the state, the political climate in Sirsa is heating up. Just like in the Assembly elections, the Municipal Council (MC) polls would witness the formation of alliances by political parties.
Wards reserved for different categories
- SC Women: Ward No. 1, 2, 29
- SC Men: Ward No. 13, 28, 30, 32
- BC-A Women: Ward No. 22
- BC-A Men: Wards No. 10, 26
- General Category Women: Ward No. 8, 9, 17, 19, 21, 23, 31
- Open Wards: Ward No. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25 27
Voter count across wards
Each ward has a different number of voters, with the highest in Ward No. 3 (5,971 voters) and the lowest in Ward No. 23 (3,691 voters). The voter count in other wards varies between 4,000 and 6,000 per ward, while making every vote crucial for electing the city's Municipal Council leadership.
However, the BJP’s local leaders and workers are not in a mood for any alliance with any other party this time. Meanwhile, former minister Gopal Kanda’s party, Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP), is once again looking to team up with the BJP, just like in the past Assembly elections. Interestingly, Gopal Kanda’s younger brother Gobind Kanda, is already a member of the BJP.
For the first time, 1.6 lakh voters in Sirsa will directly elect the Chairman of the MC. This seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) candidate, prompting major parties, including the BJP, the Congress, the INLD, the AAP, and the JJP to search for strong SC aspirants.
The area under the jurisdiction of the MC has been expanded. The number of wards under the MC has gone up from 31 to 32. New areas such as Khajakhera Road, Chhatragarh Patti, Begu Road and Bajekan Mor have been added to the MC limits. Out of 32 wards, 11 are reserved for women. The Chairman will be directly elected by voters, while the Vice-Chairman will be selected by councillors.
In the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, the BJP had supported HLP’s candidate Gopal Kanda for the Sirsa seat. Initially, the BJP had announced Rohtash Jangra as its candidate, but he was replaced at the last moment. Despite support from the BJP and the INLD, Gopal Kanda lost to Congress candidate Gokul Sethia.
Recently, Gopal Kanda met his supporters in Sirsa and invited applications from those interested in contesting the Chairman and councillor’s elections. In the past, Kanda was successful in getting Reena Sethi elected as the MC Chairperson from his party.
A close associate of Gopal Kanda expressed confidence that the HLP would form an alliance with the BJP for the MC elections, and their candidates would win in Sirsa.
However, BJP district president Sheeshpal Kamboj made it clear that local party workers want to contest the MC elections without any alliance. He emphasised that just like in the previous MC elections, the BJP would contest under its own symbol. Kamboj also revealed that a list of candidates for all wards had already been prepared and eight to 10 people were willing to contest for the Chairman’s post. He said, “The final decision will be taken by the party’s high command.”
Meanwhile, the Congress has appointed Tohana MLA Parmveer Singh as the in-charge for the Sirsa MC elections, along with Gaurav Sampat as co-in-charge. Local leaders Rajkumar Sharma and Naveen Kedia have been appointed as city convenor and co-convenor, respectively.