Chandigarh MC elections: Parties begin shortlisting candidates

Surveys have begin, but parties are mostly waiting for the State Election Commission to notify reserve wards in Chandigarh

While waiting for the State Election Commission to notify the reserve wards, the political parties have started the process of identifying prospective candidates for the upcoming municipal corporation (MC) elections.

The Chandigarh MC elections are due in December, and election code of conduct is expected to be declared in mid-November. (HT FILE PHOTO)

While the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claim to have shortlisted around 200 candidates for the 35 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started conducting surveys for the purpose.

The MC elections are due in December, and election code of conduct is expected to be declared in mid-November. In the last MC elections, there were 26 wards, which have been increased to 35 owing to the addition of 13 new villages under the MC jurisdiction.

Criticising the “delay” in the notification of the reserve wards, Congress city chief Subhash Chawla said, “The shortlisting of the candidates has been done after initial survey of the wards. Around 200 candidates have been shortlisted. But we can proceed with the final selection of candidates only when we know which wards are reserved for women and for candidates of the scheduled castes category.”

The initial assessment of the candidates has been done by AAP too. Chander Mukhi Sharma, in-charge of the campaign committee, said, “For every seat we have five to six candidates shortlisted. But the final survey for the seat will commence only after the reserve wards are notified.”

The BJP, though, is yet to prepare the list of candidates, the party surveys of wards have started. “The party will carry out surveys for the candidates at a later stage. But a survey of wards has started,” said Arun Sood, BJP state president.

The suitable candidate

Locked in a three-cornered fight for the MC House, parties realise the winning margins are likely to be narrower this time around, and the choice of candidate becomes even more crucial.

Winnability, ideology, loyalty to party and past performance are some of the factors which all the parties are focusing on for selecting their candidates.

For the ruling BJP party, the process of ticket allotment must go through several phases and levels. “Factors like popularity in the area, commitment to the party, and candidate’s character will be considered before the selection of candidates. The multiple surveys, conducted by local units and the national level on different aspects at the ground level, play a crucial role in the selection of the candidates,” said Sood.

BJP has 20 councillors in the current MC House.

Most of the current Congress councillors are likely to be retained. “In addition to the existing councillors, candidates who lost the last elections with narrow margins and have worked dedicatedly for the party are also frontrunners for getting the party ticket,” said Chawla.

The Congress has five councilors in the current House of 26.

“For around 15 seats we are planning to bring in fresh faces. These candidates can even be from outside the party. Army veterans, reputed people from other fields will also be considered for Congress ticket,” added Chawla.