First-time councillors likely to take MC helm today
Stage is set for the oath ceremony of 85 newly elected councillors and election of the seventh Mayor of the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation at Red Cross Bhawan on Saturday.
The district administration has made all preparations for it. The building is being given a fresh coat of paint. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal, ADC Amit Mahajan and SDM Randeep Singh Heer were at Red Cross Bhawan this afternoon to supervise all arrangements for seating, security and catering for the gala event.
Vaneet Dhir continues to be the frontrunner for the post of Mayor. Karamjeet Kaur is likely to be picked for the post of Senior Deputy Mayor and Malkiat Subhana Deputy Mayor. In the selection of the three names, AAP leaders have attempted to strike a balance of castes while giving representation to three different urban Assembly segments.
While Dhir will be the party's Hindu face, Karamjeet will represent the Sikhs and women section and Malkiat Singh is a representative of the SC community. Dhir comes from Ward no. 62 which falls in Jalandhar West, Karamjeet Kaur is the councillor from Wward no. 11 in Jalandhar Central and Malkiat Subhana is the councillor from Ward no. 38 in Jalandhar Cantt.
All three leaders are first-time councillors. Dhir's wife Shweta Dhir had been a BJP councillor earlier. He is credited with having won with a margin of 3,596 votes in this election. Likewise, Karamjeet Kaur is the wife of three-time councillor Balbir S Bittu, who had been with SAD earlier. Bittu's wife was in the fray for the first time and the couple had won the election from adjoining wards 10 and 11. Malkiat Singh has earlier been sarpanch of Subhana village. The village had been included in the city limits a few years back.
BOX: City has 6 Mayors
It was on January 24, 2023, that the tenure of the last Mayor Jagdish Raja was over. Raja, who was then in the Congress, had tried his chance from AAP this time, but lost to a first-timer. The city had got Jai Kishan Saini as its first Mayor in 1991. Suresh Sehgal became the second Mayor in 1997. SC leader late Surinder Mahey became the third Mayor in 2002. Businessman with the RSS background Rakesh Rathour was the fourth Mayor in the next term. BJP had a second subsequent tenure in the MC House with Sunil Jyoti getting the top position in 2012. Raja's tenure had started from 2018 to 2023.
BOX: Raising hands method opposed
Even though the Congress is attempting cross-voting by fielding its own candidate for the mayoral post, the plan of the party may not work as voting will be done by raising hands. District Congress Committee chief Rajinder Beri, however, has written to Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, seeking that secret ballot be allowed for voting. Congress likely Mayoral candidate Balraj Thakur and lawyer Parminder Vig met the newly appointed Divisional Commissioner Arun Sekhri to hand over their demand letter. They have said secret ballot would ensure transparency.
BOX: How AAP got the magic figure
In the MC poll held about three weeks back, AAP had won in 38 wards falling short by five seats to hit the majority figure. The Congress had won on 25 seats, BJP on 19, BSP on one and Independents two. Post poll, seven councillors, including three from the Congress, two from BJP and two Independents, joined AAP. The Congress is banking on the joint support from other parties to challenge AAP.
