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Congress largest party in Amritsar MC house but winning mayor’s election a challenge
Apart from the 85 elected councillors, the MLAs of five urban segments -- Amritsar Central, Amritsar North, Amritsar South, Amritsar East and Amritsar West – also hold voting rights in the House as ex-officio members. Thus, to secure the three top posts, the Congress needs 46 votes.
Despite emerging as the single largest party, winning 40 out of 85 seats in Amritsar municipal corporation (MC) elections, the Congress will have a tough time securing the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor, as it is still six votes short of the majority mark in the House.
Apart from the 85 elected councillors, the MLAs of five urban segments -- Amritsar Central, Amritsar North, Amritsar South, Amritsar East and Amritsar West – also hold voting rights in the House as ex-officio members. Thus, to secure the three top posts, the Congress needs 46 votes.
Where AAP, the second-largest party stands
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has 24 councillors, has an added advantage as all five MLAs belong to the party. Besides, four out of the eight independent candidates have pledged support to the party. As per reports, the AAP, which is at the helm in the state, is also trying to add the MLAs of Jandiala Guru and Attari constituencies as ex-officio members in the House to further gain strength. If it is successful in doing so, its strength will climb to 35, further posing a challenge to the Congress.
Challenges before Congress
So far, the Congress has been able to secure the support of only one independent candidate. Three independent candidates are yet to show their cards, and both Congress and AAP are further trying to woo the nine Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and four Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillors in the House to solidify their position.
Factionalism at the local level is another challenge. There are two contenders within the party for the mayor’s post -- four-time councillor Rajkanwalpreetpal Singh Lucky from one faction and two-time councillor Vikas Soni, the nephew of former deputy CM OP Soni, from the other group.
Lucky had served as the leader of Opposition in the House during the SAD-BJP regime. He has also held key posts such in the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee, Youth Congress and district Congress committee. He has also been senior vice-chairman, Punjab water supply and sewerage board, Chandigarh. He was strongest claimant for the mayor’s post in 2018 as well, but the party went with Karamjit Singh Rintu who joined AAP after it came to power. Lucky, thus enjoys the sympathy factor and is reportedly being backed by Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla.
Amid the tug-of-war between the two factions, the Congress high command sent senior leader Harish Chaudhary in a bid to keep the flock together. Chaudhary met with the elected councillors, besides leaders of state and local unit, all of whom pledged their unwavering support to the high command’s decision.
