The ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday swept the Shimla municipal corporation (SMC) elections by winning 24 out of the total 34 wards and wresting the prestigious civic body from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a period of 10 years.
The opposition BJP managed to secure only nine seats, eight less than its tally of 17 in the previous elections. Both the BJP and the Congress had fielded 34 candidates each for this year’s polls that were held on May 2.
In 2017, the BJP had won the SMC polls for the first time since 1986, when the first election to the civic body was held. While the party had won 17 seats, the Congress had secured 12 seats.
In this year’s SMC’s polls, the CPI(M) won just one ward while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) drew a blank.
“The outcome of the elections is historic. The Congress won 24 seats for the first time in the municipal corporation polls. It’s a mandate for the government’s governance. The outcome is sure to have a bearing on the future elections, since the elections were held on the party symbols “ chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said.
The SMC polls were seen as a litmus test for Sukhu who became the chief minister nearly five months ago and the ruling Congress which aims to consolidate its political hold over Shimla by gaining control of the municipal corporation. The party had won the assembly elections in December, winning 40 out of 68 seats.
{{/usCountry}}The SMC polls were seen as a litmus test for Sukhu who became the chief minister nearly five months ago and the ruling Congress which aims to consolidate its political hold over Shimla by gaining control of the municipal corporation. The party had won the assembly elections in December, winning 40 out of 68 seats.
{{/usCountry}}The CPI(M) had fielded four candidates for the civic body elections. Only one of its candidates, Virender Thakur, won after defeating his nearest rival, BJP’s Jagdish Thakur, by 78 votes from Summer Hill ward, which has been the stronghold of the Left party for decades.
The AAP had fielded its candidates in 21 wards.
Among the heavyweights, former mayor and BJP candidate Satya Kaundal was defeated by Congress’s Mamata Chandel from Sanjauli ward by 196 votes.
Another former mayor, Sohan Lal, who rebelled against the Congress and contested as an Independent, lost from Krishnanagar ward. Congress’s Shimla (Urban) block president lost from Bharari Ward.
The BJP accused the ruling party of misusing official machinery.
“The BJP accepts and respects the mandate given by the people of the capital town. The government misused the official machinery,” former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said.
“The Congress enrolled a large number of votes of people who live outside the jurisdiction of the Shimla municipal corporation to win the elections,” he added.
The elections were delayed by a year due to a petition against delimitation of wards in the high court.