E-Paper
BJP’s Kulbhushan Goyal is Panchkula mayor
Party along with ally JJP also wins majority in 20-member MC House with 11 seats
In a closely contested mayoral election in Panchkula, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kulbhushan Goyal trumped the Congress’ Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia by 2,057 votes.
BJP also secured a majority in the 20-member municipal corporation House by winning 11 seats along with its alliance partner Jannayak Janata Party. Congress won seven seats, and two went to Independent candidates.
BJP was faster off the blocks in starting campaigning, roped in party bigwigs, including Haryana and Himachal Pradesh chief ministers, and proved to be better organised at the grassroots.
Local MLA and Haryana assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta credited the “developmental work done by the party in the last six years” for the victory. “People have voted for the development. Earlier they elected me and now Goyal. We are grateful to the residents,” he said.
This is third successive victory for BJP against Congress in Panchkula, once considered a stronghold of the grand old party. Gupta has won the last two assembly elections, and now with this win in the Panchkula MC, the power of balance has securely shifted towards the saffron party. The last victory for Congress was in 2013, when Ahluwalia was selected the mayor and the party won majority in the House with 12 seats.
Talking to media after his victory, Goyal, said: “We could have won by a much higher margin, but the voting percentage was lower than expected than in previous years.” On December 27, only 55.9% of the electorate had turned up to vote. In the last MC election, the turnout stood at 64.1%.
For Goyal, a real estate developer, this is first success at electoral politics in two attempts. Fighting the assembly elections on INLD ticket, he had lost to Gupta in 2014. He later joined BJP in 2019.
Neck and neck till the end
The counting took place amid tight police security. It started at 8am and results were announced at around 3:15pm.
It was for the first time there was a direct contest for the post of mayor. There were six candidates in the fray though it was mainly a two-cornered contest.
In the first two rounds of counting, held at the Government College for Girls, Sector 14, Ahluwalia was ahead with a small margin. But, with the third round, Goyal reversed the trend and maintained his lead till the end. The gap between the two though decreased after the counting for rural and semi-urban wards started.
In the end, out of total 1,03,768 votes polled, Goyal got 49,860 and Ahluwalia could secure only 47,803.
The urban-rural divide in voting was also witnessed in ward-wise results. Congress and Independent candidates fared better in these wards, while BJP was stronger in urban sectors.
For instance, Congress won in wards covering Rajeev Colony, Kot, Mattawala, Dabkauri, Toka, Khangersra, Alipur, Behar, Naggal, Jalauli, Khatauli, Sakhdarshanpur, Railly, Kundi, Ashiyana and Madanpur, while Independents won in wards covering Moginand and Ramgarh villages.
‘We will make Panchkula a smart city’
New mayor Kulbhushan Goyal, 60, has been living in the city for the past 36 years. Earlier with INLD, he joined BJP just two years ago. A civil engineer by education, he is into construction business and promoter of Amravati Enclave.
Besides being the president of Panchkula Gaushala Trust, he is also the secretary of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, and has been involved in social work. After winning the mayoral seat, Goyal shared his priorities for the city.
“It’s the blessings of the people of Panchkula, who have showed trust in the party. We will make Panchkula a smart city. Making the city free from stray cattle and stray dogs is another priority,” he said, adding that with the BJP’s government at the Centre and in the state, “we will ensure overall development of the city”.
