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Ludhiana: Seat reserved, city set to get 1st woman mayor
Announcement sends political parties in a tizzy as no outfit had projected a woman candidate for the post
The state government announced late on Monday that the Ludhiana mayor seat will be reserved for women candidates, setting the stage for the city to get its first female mayor.
The move, however, sent the political parties in a tizzy as none of them had projected a woman for the post.
The notification was issued 17 days after five municipal corporations and other urban local bodies in Punjab went to polls on December 21.
The four other corporation, Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar and Phagwara, were classified as general. As no party had attained the majority mark of 48, the city is abuzz with political activities.
However, the notification has forced the parties vying for the post to go back to the drawing board and chalk out fresh strategies. During the last Congress regime in the corporation, Sarabjit Kaur was the deputy mayor. Sunita Aggarwal, who was the deputy mayor in the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance, also held the post. However, the city has never had a woman at the top corporation position.
Congress district chief Sanjay Talwal said the party was prepared for the mayoral elections. “We will reveal out strategy in due time,” he said.
AAP MLA from Ludhiana South Rajinderpal Chhina said the move demonstrates the state government’s ‘commitment to empowering women’.
“The AAP is ready to elect its mayor once the election date is announced,” she said.
Insiders from major political parties said they are considering names of prominent women faces for the post.
Likely names from the AAP include Nidhi Gupta, Inderjeet Kaur, Maninder Kaur Ghuman, Amrit Varsha Rampal.
BJP district chief Rajnish Dhiman hit out at the ‘delay’ in issuing the notification. “Reserving the seat for women is a positive step but the delay in issuing the notification raises concerns about the government’s intentions,” he said.
AAP emerged as the single-largest party with 43 councillors.
The Congress won 29 wards, BJP 20 and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won two seats.
