Chandigarh MC polls: Congress places it bets on familiar faces, kin of leaders in first list
Facing factionalism and prospects of rebellions, Congress is the last to announce its first list of candidates among major parties
The Chandigarh Congress on Thursday released its first list of 30 candidates for the municipal corporation elections scheduled for December 24.
Seeking to return to winning ways in the city’s electoral politics after nearly a decade, the Congress is depending heavily on its seasoned campaigners.
Some fresh faces have also been added, predominantly family members of Congress leaders, including incumbent state president’s son.
Three of the sitting councillors - Gurbax Rawat, Satish Kumar Kainth and Ravinder Kaur Gujral have been retained. Former councillor Harpreet Kaur, who is the wife of sitting councillor Devinder Singh Babla, has been given ticket from Babla’s ward as it was reserved for women. The fate of its fifth sitting councillor Sheela Devi remains under suspense; the party is still to announce a candidate from her current ward area. The party’s state in-charge Harish Chaudhary on Thursday approved the list of candidates prepared by the state election committee. The committee, comprising Chandigarh state president Subhash Chawla and former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal among others, held a meeting on Thursday. “The committee scrunitised all applications in details and after discussion, finalised 30 candidates as party’s official candidates,” said a party spokesperson. The party had invited applications from prospective candidates and around 200 had applied for tickets. Facing factionalism and prospects of rebel candidates, the party was last to announce its first list of candidates among major parties. AAP announced its first list of 26 candidates on November 30 and BJP on Wednesday announced 23.
Most of the party candidates who lost in previous MC election don’t find themselves in the list, though some have been given another chance. Party’s chief spokesperson and former deputy mayor Harmohinder Singh Lucky will again take on BJP’s Maheshinder Singh Sidhu from ward 2, which in 2016 election was ward 1. Lucky had lost to Sidhu in a close contest.
Other last time losers in fray again include former mayor Kamlesh Banarasi Dass, Mahila Congress president Deipa Dubey, Ravi Thakur and Jasbir Singh Bunty. Turncoat Balwinder Kaur, sister of Babla, who contested and lost the last election in 2016 on a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ticket, will contest this time on the Congress ticket from ward 22. Former councillor Jannat Jahan, former sarpanch of village Mauli Jagran Kartar Singh Thakur, brother of former Punjab minister Jagmohan Singh Kang’s brother and former councillor Jagjit Singh Kang are some of the other seasoned players in local politics who have been given tickets.
Chawla’s son to contest
This election will see the entry of the city Congress president Subhash Chawla’s son Sumit Chawla into city’s electoral politics. He will contest from ward 14. Subhash, who took over as the Congress city president earlier this year, had lost his 2016 election to BJP’s Rajesh Kumar Gupta.
Some of other new faces include chairman of MC’s door-to-door garbage collection federation Om Prakash Saini, wife of former mayor Gurcharan Dass Kala, Rajiv Kumar Moudgil, NSUI leader Sachin Galav, INTUC leader Naseeb Jakhar, former deputy mayor Pushpa Sharma’s daughter Saroj Sharma, former MC employee Gurcharan Singh, Youth congress leader Abhishek Sharma Shanky and Gurpeet Gabi, a local Congress leader.