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Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service
Mohali, March 4
The order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the reservation of the post of the first Mohali Mayor for women has changed all permutations and combinations for the elections.
Where Azad Group head Kulwant Singh, a former SAD leader, is again back in the race for the Mayor’s post, several Akali councillors, prospective candidates for the post, have also intensified their activities after the HC order.
It is almost clear that Kulwant Singh, who had left the Akali Dal after his loyalists were not given the party ticket during the Mohali Municipal Corporation elections, will contest the mayoral poll. Apparently, the SAD has at least four candidates — Parminder Singh Sohana, Sukhdev Patwari, Gurmukh Singh Sohal and Kuldeep Kaur Kang — in the race for the post.
Earlier, all these candidates, except for Kuldeep Kaur Kang, were out of the race with the reservation of the Mayor’s post for women by the Punjab Government on March 4.
In the 50-member MC House, Kulwant Singh, whose Azad Group has 10 seats, is likely to get the support of the Congress, which won 14 seats. The Azad Group had won 11 seats, but the death of one of their candidates, Amteshwar Kaur, reduced their number to 10.
Congress’ Mohali unit president and local MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu today declared that the party would support any candidate who contests the mayoral election against the Akali Dal candidate. Being the MLA of the area, Sidhu has the right to cast vote to elect the Mayor. The SAD-BJP combine had won 23 seats. The remaining two seats are with Independents Manjit Singh Sethi from Ward No. 14 and Harwinder Kaur Lang from Ward No. 19. The support of Sethi and Lang would be a crucial factor in forming a majority in the House.
Sethi, who has openly voiced his anger against SAD Mohali in charge BS Ramoowalia several times in the recent past, has already announced that he would think of joining the Akali Dal bandwagon only if Ramoowalia was removed from the seat and he (Sethi) was given the post of Senior Mayor.
“We will support any candidate who contests against the Akali candidate,” said MLA Sidhu. Asked whether or not the Congress would field its candidate for the post, Sidhu said no. SAD rebel Kulwant Singh, who had contested the recent Lok Sabha election on the Akali Dal ticket from the Fatehgarh Sahib constituency, said he was very happy with the HC decision. “I have formed the Azad Group as my loyalists were not given the party ticket in the MC elections. Now, the time has come to field a candidate for the Mayor’s post. Our party will surely field a candidate,” said Kulwant Singh.
Asked whether he would contest the election, Kulwant said, “Why not”.
Ramoowalia said Mohali would see an Akali candidate as its first Mayor.
“Badal sahib has already made it clear in yesterday’s meeting that the first Mayor of the town will be from among the 17 candidates of the Akali Dal. I don’t want to say anything more,” said Ramoowalia.
Asked how the Akali Dal would prove its majority in the House, Ramoowalia said, “You wait and watch”.
Manjit Sethi said his stand was clear. “Remove Ramoowalia and get our (Independents) support,” said Sethi.
Horsetrading may take place
Though all leaders shy away from accepting that horsetrading may take place during the election, it is an open secret that the Akali Dal and leaders of other groups “will do anything” to ensure the victory of their candidate. Fearing horsetrading, Kulwant Singh had reportedly taken his councillors to Himachal Pradesh on “forced holidays” twice. “Everybody knows that the Mohali mayoral election is now a prestige issue between multi-millionaire coloniser-turned-politician Kulwant Singh and Ramoowalia, a senior leader of the Akali government in Punjab.
Women power
As many as 18 women candididates had won the elections. Of them, six are from the SAD and an equal number from the Congress, one from the BJP, four from the Azad Group and one Independent.
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