Four-time Congress councillor Surinder Kumar Chhinda was on Monday elected as the new mayor of Hoshiarpur.
Congress candidates Parveen Saini and Ranjit Chaudhary were elected senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.
The Congress enjoys majority in the House, having won 41 of the 50 seats.
This time, the post of mayor was reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate, while other posts were open.
Another Congress councillor, Balwinder Kumar Bindi, was also in the mayoral race but the party unanimously decided in favour of Chhinda. Bindi was compensated with the post of chairman of the finance and contract committee (F&CC).
The election was overseen by food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who along with industries and commerce minister Sunder Sham Arora, met the elected representatives in a hotel to ensure their consent. In the formal meeting at the corporation office, all members, including those of the opposition, raised hands in favour of Chhinda and other office-bearers.
Arora, who is also the local MLA, said it was a big day for the Congress as the party was heading the local body for the first time in nearly 35 years.
{{/usCountry}}Arora, who is also the local MLA, said it was a big day for the Congress as the party was heading the local body for the first time in nearly 35 years.
{{/usCountry}}Interestingly, the newly elected senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor and F&CC chairman have been councillors of the BJP.
Parveen Saini is the senior most of them, having won five times in a row.