Ludhiana to get its mayor today, officials working in overdrive
The Aam Aadmi Party is strongly poised to elect a mayor as it reached the majority-mark of 48 in the 95-member House after ward number 41 councillor Mamta Rani switched sides from the Congress
The city is abuzz with activity as it readies to elect its seventh mayor, the elections for which are scheduled for Monday at the Guru Nanak Bhawan, officials said.
The municipal corporation officials are working in overdrive to finalise the preparations for the oath-taking ceremony of 95 councillors and the mayoral polls.
Several state cabinet ministers arrived at the Parkar House in Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Saturday.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is strongly poised to elect a mayor as it reached the majority-mark of 48 in the 95-member House after ward number 41 councillor Mamta Rani switched sides from the Congress on Saturday.
In the MC elections on December 21 last year, AAP emerged as the single-largest party, winning from 41 wards.
In the twists and turns in the past few weeks, two independent councillors, four from the Congress and from the Bharatiya Janaya Party (BJP) joined the AAP, taking their tally to 48.
As the mayoral seat is reserved for a female councillor, names of Nidhi Gupta, Dr Inderjit Kaur, Maninder Kaur Ghumman and Amrit Varsha Rampal are under consideration, according to party insiders privy to the details.
However, the party leadership has kept their decision under wraps.
The MC has deputed senior officials to ensure the event proceeds smoothly. Executive engineer Balwinder Singh is overseeing the cleaning of berms and patchwork on potholes near the venue and executive engineer Parshotam Singh is tasked with preventing water supply or sewer line leaks and ensuring covering of road gullies.
Horticulture branch executive engineer JP Singh has been tasked with providing plants and clearing green waste in the vicinity of the venue.
Health officer Vipul Malhotra is to cleanliness and hygiene and store purchaser Davinder Bhardwaj will manage refreshments for the attendees.
Shyam Sunder Malhotra to be LoP
The Congress has named Shyam Sunder Malhotra as the Leader of Opposition in the MC House. Deepika Bhalla has been appointed as senior vice-leader and Harminder Pal Lally as vice-leader.
Initially, the Congress claimed it would secure the mayoral position after winning 30 seats in the elections. However, the grand-old party’s tally has shrunk to 26.
The proceedings will begin with the oath-taking ceremony at 11 am, which will be followed by nominations for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The divisional commissioner will oversee voting.
