In Solan, elections deferred to April 16

Tribune News Service

Solan, April 13

The oath-taking ceremony of Solan MC councillors was far from smooth as nine Congress councillors failed to turn up at 11 am today. Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Anurag Chander Sharma, who waited till 12 noon to administer the oath to the councillors at the MC hall, announced April 16 the next date and left the venue. None of the seven BJP councillors and an Independent turned up for oath.

A piquant situation, however, arose when Congress councillors, accompanied by senior MLAs like DR Shandil, Harshwardhan Chauhan, Rajinder Rana and Pradesh Congress Committee president Kuldeep Chauhan, arrived at 12:15 pm from Shimla. They called up the DC alleging that there was no one to administer the oath and officers were working under government pressure.

Deputy Commissioner, Solan, KC Chaman, however, directed the ADC to go and administer the oath to the nine councillors.

He said, “The ADC had waited for over an hour and announced the next date since no one had turned up. When I was informed by the Congress leaders that the councillors had arrived around 12:15 pm, I directed the ADC to go back. It was only a matter of delay in the arrival by the Congress councillors as all arrangements were in place.”

While the seven BJP councillors and an Independent abstained from the ceremony, their absence instilled a sense of insecurity in the Congress camp. Since a consensus could not be arrived for the two top posts, the leaders were facing a challenge in keeping their flock together. There were two contenders - Punam Grover and Puja - for the Mayor’s post now and two others - Rajiv Kaura and Sardar Singh - for the Deputy Mayor’s post.

Since the secret ballot will decide who bag the top posts, the probability of cross-voting among the Congress councillors continued to weigh on the minds of the leaders.The Congress has a majority of nine councillors while BJP has seven and it is banking on the support of an Independent and some covert support from the Congress.

The BJP is keeping its cards close to its chest though its leaders are confident of springing a surprise on April 16. Securing the top posts has become a prestige issue for both parties.

In minority, saffron party confident

The BJP is keeping its cards close to its chest though its leaders are confident of springing a surprise on April 16. Securing the top posts has become a prestige issue for both parties.

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