Councillors resent extension in tenure of Shimla Mayor, his deputy

The recent Cabinet decision to extend the tenure of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) has not gone down well with several councillors. Discontent is brewing and a section of councillors are planning to bring a resolution to seek a change in leadership by offering one of the posts to another candidate.

According to the roster issued by the state government, the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the Shimla MC are meant to change every two and a half years. The current Mayor, Surinder Chauhan, and Deputy Mayor Uma Kaushal were due to complete their tenure on November 15. However, the Cabinet, in its meeting on Saturday, approved an extension in their tenure, allowing them to continue in office until 2028.

Sources said that councillors had already started lobbying to contest the top two positions once the current tenure of the duo ended.

BJP councillor Saroj Thakur, representing the Ruldu Bhatta ward, criticised the decision, calling it politically motivated. “We condemn this decision as it is unfair and had been taken solely to favour the current Mayor, who is known to be close to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor were elected for a term of two and a half years. Extending their tenure just weeks before completion is highly unjustified,” she added.

Saroj said that several women councillors were eyeing the Mayor’s post this time. “There are over 20 women councillors in the MC and it was their turn to lead,” she added.

She also claimed that several Congress councillors were dissatisfied with the decision and were in touch with BJP members. The issue, she added, would be raised in the upcoming General House meeting of the MC.