Gurgaon: 18 municipal corporation wards reserved for SC, OBC and women

In a significant step towards holding the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) elections, 18 of the 35 wards, selected through a lucky draw on Thursday, have been designated for reserved categories.

In a significant step towards holding the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) elections, 18 of the 35 wards, selected through a lucky draw on Thursday, have been designated for reserved categories.

Gurgaon’s civic body has been without elected councillors since June 2016. Categorisation of wards for the reserved candidates indicates that residents can expect an election this year. (HT File Photo)

The draw was organised by the district administration in the presence of Gurgaon MLA Umesh Aggarwal, deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh, other senior civic officials and members of the ad hoc committee that were constituted to reorganise MCG wards.

Of the 35 wards, six have been reserved for scheduled castes — wards 1,7,11, 17, 21 and 25. Two wards — 24 and 31 — were reserved for other backward castes and 10 — 32, 35, 9, 5, 16, 27, 33, 22, 26 and 2 — for women from the general category.

Gurgaon’s civic body has been without elected councillors since June 2016. Categorisation of wards for the reserved candidates indicates that residents can expect an election this year.

However, there has been no official release by the Election Commission (EC) on tentative dates, although speculation of the election taking place in the last week of September has been doing the rounds.

Local leaders said they are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the date for MCG elections.

“The state government wants to conduct the elections at the earliest and the EC is also conducting its formalities. We are yet to receive any formal or tentative indication on the dates for the elections but we are gearing up and making our preparations,” Bhupender Chauhan, district president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said.

The development takes place in the backdrop of the Punjab and Haryana high court hearing a writ petition against the process of demarcation of MCG wards.

The high court directed the Haryana government to give an explanation as to “why they should not be directed to constitute a new committee for reviewing the process of demarcation of municipal wards.”

The hearing is scheduled for November 7 but despite the ongoing case, the HC has not deferred or stayed the elections.