Six members elected unopposed to LMC exec committee

While five of the seats went to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, one was won by a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate

Six members of Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s executive committee were elected unopposed in the elections held on Monday. While five of the seats went to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, one was won by a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate.

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Anurag Mishra Annu, KN Singh, Bhrigunath Shukla, Charanjit Gandhi and Gauri Sanwariya of the BJP and the Samajwadi Party’s Saba Ehsan were elected to the committee, which has a total of 12 members who retire after serving a period of two years.

Earlier, BJP’ corporator Ram Naresh Rawat stirred a controversy by writing to defence minister Rajnath Singh alleging that Dalits were being excluded from the executive committee.

The SP also had a debate over candidate selection as its members supported corporators Saba Ehsan, Jitu Yadav and Ram Naresh Chaurasia for one seat. The Congress, despite having two members in the House, did not field any candidate.

During the election, a controversy arose over deputy chairman Girish Gupta’s presence on the stage. SP’s Sayyed Yawar Hussain Reshu questioned Gupta’s right to be on stage before the executive committee was fully formed. Following a vote among those present, Gupta stepped down, sparking protests from BJP members. Eventually, he was persuaded to return to the stage.

The LMC House comprises 131 members, including ex-officio (nominated) members. The BJP is the dominant party with 101 members (83 corporators and 18 ex-officio members, including mayor Sushma Kharakwal). The Samajwadi Party holds 22 corporator seats and has three ex-officio members, making it the second-largest party. While the Congress has two seats, the BSP has no representation in the House after Amit Chaudhary joined the BJP.