E-Paper
Raman Goyal becomes first woman mayor of Bathinda
Veteran Congress leader alleges favouritism; Ashok Pardhan elected senior deputy mayor, while Master Harmandar Singh Sidhu named deputy mayor
Raman Goyal became the first woman mayor of Bathinda municipal corporation on Thursday amid allegations of favouritism by a veteran party leader.
Ashok Pardhan (ward number 37) was elected senior deputy mayor, while Master Harmandar Singh Sidhu (ward number 28) was elected the deputy mayor.
Also read: Students of Classes 5, 8 and 10 to be promoted without exams in Punjab
Technical education minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who oversaw the election in the Congress-dominant House, said that all three were elected unanimously.
The Congress has 43 members in the 50-member House, and all were present during the meeting, which was also attended by state finance minister and local Congress MLA Manpreet Singh Badal.
Veteran Congress leader gets cold shoulder
A first-time Congress councillor, Goyal, had defeated BJP’s Seema Arora by 1,134 votes from ward number 35. Her election came as a surprise as veteran Congress leader Jagroop Singh Gill, who successfully contested from ward number 48 , had won the civic elections for a record seventh time and was being seen as the strongest claimant for the mayor’s post.
Ahead of the local elections, he was asked to quit as chairperson of the district planning board to contest the municipal corporation elections.
He polled 1,452 votes, whereas his nearest rival Nirmal Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal got only 876 votes.
Gill had also held the posts of the chairperson of the Bathinda Improvement Trust, vice-president and president of the local civic body and the president of the District Bar Association.
Before the formal announcement in the House, Gill expressed his displeasure at being ignored. He said the names of the top three positions were decided two weeks ago and Channi came only as a formality.
Mayor’s husband close to Manpreet’s family: Gill
Without naming anyone, Gill said certain sections tried to defeat him during the civic body polls, but electors reposed faith in him. “I’m winning the local body elections since 1979 and it was popular opinion that an experienced person should head the MC. But she (Raman Goyal) was favoured only because her husband, Sandeep Goyal, a wine contractor, is close to Manpreet Badal and his core team,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Manpreet and Channi rubbished the charge of favouritism. “No specific criteria were fixed for finalising names for top posts, but it was decided according to popular opinion among the councillors. During the meeting with party candidates today, Gill did not oppose any candidature,” Channi said.
Goyal’s election as mayor is seen as one with an eye on the state elections next year. “Bathinda was always a political bastion of the former Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janta Party alliance. It is the first time that the Congress has managed to get a majority in the local body and by nominating Goyal to the top position, the party is looking to consolidate Hindu votes as the SAD-BJP alliance is over now,” said a political analyst, requesting anonymity.
