Gurgaon civic polls: 195 candidates file papers for MCG elections on last day

As many as 195 prospective candidates filed their nominations for the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) elections on Wednesday on the last day for the process.

A beeline of prospective candidates could be seen at the nomination centres at the Mini Secretariat, Kadipur community centre, Vikas Sadan, Haryana roadways office at the bus stand, Zila Parishad office and sub-tehsil office in Sector 56.

After a virtual no-show on the first two days of nominations, during which only one independent candidate had filed his papers, 87 prospective candidates filed their nominations on Monday and Tuesday cumulatively.

A total of 283 candidates have filed their nominations for the elections. The candidates will participate in the MCG elections subject to approval from Election Commission officials, who will be scrutinizing their documents on Thursday.

The final list of candidates will be released on Friday. Elections are scheduled for September 24 and the results will be released later on the same day.

The main reason for the last-minute rush for filing nominations is that political parties such as Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Lok Dal had delayed releasing their list of candidates.

Among the first time candidates who filed their nominations on Wednesday was Amit Kumar Arora, a resident of upscale Magnolias in DLF Phase-5.

Amit, a graduate from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), has bagged a BJP ticket from ward 34.

“I am glad that the party has put its faith in me and selected me as a candidate for the MCG elections. I’ll use my experience in the corporate world and involve private companies for Corporate Social Responsibility projects in my ward and help in building community toilets, playgrounds and kitchens to feed the poor,” Amit said.

Former councillor Mahesh Dayma also filed his nomination for the upcoming elections as an independent candidate from ward 30.

“I am optimistic about my chances of being re-elected as a councillor from my ward as people have witnessed the various developmental projects I carried out in my five-year tenure,” Dayma said.

While the prospective candidates’ nomination is subject to approval from EC, some have already started campaigning.

Ashwani Sharma, who is aiming to contest the elections as an independent candidate from ward 19, could be seen campaigning in Sector 15 with a group of his supporters.