SAD springs a surprise, Gohalwaria is Ludhiana mayor
The city would soon get a metropolitan committee that would look into the issues related to the urban area of Ludhiana and would strive to facelift the city.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria was elected as the 5th city mayor of the Ludhiana municipal corporation on Friday. Sunita Aggarwal and RD Sharma, both from the BJP, were elected as the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively. Gohalwaria represents ward number 70 in the MC.
The election started at around 11 am at the meeting hall of zone-A office of the MC. All the 75 councillors were present and voted by the show of hands. BJP councillor Sunita Aggarwal proposed the name of Gohalwaria. SAD councillor Kamaljit Singh Karwal seconded the name.
Interestingly, Karwal himself was considered to be in contention for the post of mayor. Karwal reportedly had the support of the Bains group. Gohalwaria is considered to be close to PWD minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon.
Gohalwaria secured 52 votes, with SAD's 27 and BJP's 14 votes in his kitty. 11 independent councilors also voted for him. Former MC mayor, Hakam Singh Giaspura, was also present during the polling. Minutes after Gohalwaria's election, he left the hall.
