In the elections held on Sunday for 13 wards of the Municipal Council Talwara, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress secured an equal number of seats, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning one seat. Notably, many candidates who had joined AAP from Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and BJP were defeated, signalling a shift in voter trust towards new faces.
AAP, Congress and BJP fielded candidates in all 13 wards, while two independent candidates, who had rebelled from AAP, also contested. Interestingly, the Shiromani Akali Dal did not put forward any candidates in the elections.
BJP’s Rajneesh Kumar Bittu secured a major victory in Ward 1. Congress candidates Diksha Rani, Munish Chadha, Aarti Chadha, Joginder Kaur, Anita Rani and Sheetal Arora won from wards 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12, respectively. In a similar vein, Harsh Kumar alias Ashu Arora, Ankush Sood, Prince Gill, Kalavati, Pradeep Kumar Sharfi and Joginder Pal Chinda emerged victorious from wards 5, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13.
Among the notable losses were former president Monika Sharma’s husband Manu Sharma alias Jutlu, BJP mandal president Vinod Kumar alias Mittu, AAP block pradhan Vikrant Jyoti’s wife Ruhi Sharda and Shivam Taluja’s mother Anita Jyoti. Kalavati, who won for the second time and Joginder Pal Chinda, who achieved a historic third consecutive victory, were among the standout success stories of the election.
Election Officer Mukerian Munish Kumar said voter turnout in the Talwara Nagar Council elections stood at 61.03 per cent, with the election process concluding peacefully.