Chandigarh MC election: Five councillors, spouses of 4 on BJP first list

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced its first list of 23 candidates for the Chandigarh municipal corporation elections scheduled on December 24.

In the present MC General House, elected five years ago, the BJP enjoys a majority with 20 seats out of the total 26. After the fresh delimitation, the MC comprises 35 wards.

In the list announced late at night, there are five sitting councillors and another four who are spouses of sitting councillors. The 14 others are mainly the party’s office-bearers or their relatives.

The announcement came after the list was approved by the central leadership. Earlier, on Monday, BJP state president Arun Sood, MC election in-charge and national general secretary Vinod Tawde and former state president Sanjay Tandon had met the national leadership in Delhi.

The existing councillors who have been retained include Dalip Sharma (Ward 3), current mayor Ravi Kant Sharma (Ward 17), nominated councillor Sachin Kumar Lahotiya (Ward 24), Bharat Kumar (Ward 31), and Kanwarjeet Singh Rana (Ward 33).

Wives of three councillors, whose wards were reserved for women candidates, have also been given tickets. They include Vinod Aggarwal’s wife Savita Gupta (Ward 4), Ani Dubey’s wife Vimla Dubey (Ward 9), and Jagtar Singh Dhillon’s wife Saravjit Kaur Dhillon (Ward 6). Meanwhile, councillor Chanderwati Shukla’s husband Gopal Shukla ‘Pappu’ has been nominated from Ward 15.

“The prime consideration for selection was their devotion to the party and ‘stainless steel’ image. Office-bearers at all levels were consulted and surveys were also conducted to finalise the names. After all the recommendations, the names of the candidates were announced with the approval of the national party high command,” said Arun Sood.

Suspense over 3 ex-mayors

Most on the list are either from Sood’s or Tandon’s camps. With the party withholding the names of candidates for the remaining 12 wards, suspense prevails over the fate of former mayors Raj Bala Malik, Rajesh Kalia and Davesh Moudgil. Moudgil is a close aide of former MP Satya Pal Jain.

Uncertainty also prevails over the name of senior deputy mayor Mahesinder Singh Sidhu, considered close to MP Kirron Kher.

In the list of 23, there are seven women candidates and four under the age of 40. The list also contains people from corporate sector, business community and social sector.

By selecting senior office-bearers of different wings, such as Uttarakhand cell, SC morcha, mahila morcha, traders’ cell, medical cell, colony cell and media cell, the party has attempted to strike a balance between different sections of voters.

First nomination filed

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Akhilesh Saxena, 32, filed nomination as an independent candidate from Ward No. 3. A street food vendor from Bapu Dham Colony, he is the first candidate to file nominations this year.

So far, the Aam Aadmi Party has announced a list of 26 candidates while the Shiromani Akali Dal (in alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party) has announced 13 nominees. The other main contender, Congress, is yet to come out with any names.