Mandi BJP councillors lobby for Mayor’s post

Mandi, October 8

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Extensive lobbying has begun among the BJP councillors of the Mandi Municipal Corporation to grab the post of the Mayor.

The tenure of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor is to end on October 13.

Of the total 15 councillors in the Mandi MC, 11 were elected on BJP ticket in April 2021. As a majority councillors belong to the BJP, the Congress councillors are out of the race for these posts.

Mandi is the home district of the Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur.

Deputy Mayor Virender Bhatt, close aide of local BJP MLA Sadar Anil Sharma, is lobbying hard for the post of Mayor. He was earlier the vice-chairman of the Mandi Municipal Council, which was later changed to Municipal Corporation during the BJP government. Bhatt is looking for an opportunity for his promotion as the Mayor and making efforts to register a win.

BJP councillor Suman Thakur, a staunch loyalist of former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, is also striving for the post.

BJP councillor Somesh Upadhyay, who is also holding the post of District General Secretary of BJP, is also trying hard for the post. He is a young emerging party leader. He also has a good rapport with former CM Thakur.

Another BJP councillor, Niramal Verma, who was a college fellow of Thakur, is also trying actively for the post of Mayor. She was appointed the vice-president of the district BJP Mahila Morcha.

Apart from this, BJP councillor Madhuri Kapoor, Hardeep Singh Raja, Krishan Bhanu, Neha, Sudesh and Virender Arya are striving for the post and using their political connections to grab the post.

According to sources, Thakur held a meeting with BJP councillors a few days ago and asked them to make a consensus about the posts of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. However, he did not give any indication of favouring any councillor. Two councillors remained absent from the meeting.