CHANDIGARH MC ELECTIONS: In Congress list of 30, leaders' family members get priority

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 2

Family members of Congress leaders got a priority in the first list of 30 candidates for the Municipal Corporation elections, announced by the party today.

City Congress president Subhash Chawla’s son Sumit Chawla has been named from ward number 14. The wife (Harpreet Kaur) and sister (Balwinder Kaur) of Leader of the Opposition and Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla, whose ward has been reserved for a woman candidate, have been nominated from ward number 10 and 22, respectively.

Atinder Singh Robby, son of former Congress councillor Bhupinder Singh Badheri, has got the party ticket from ward number 30. Davinder Kumar Gupta, son of former city Congress president Kulbhushan Gupta, and Jagjit Singh Kang, brother of former Punjab minister Jahmohan Singh Kang, have been named as candidates. The Congress list has the names of wives, daughters and a daughter-in-law of party leaders.

Three sitting councillors — Satish Kumar Kainth (ward number 31), Gurbax Rawat (ward number 27) and Ravinder Kaur Gujral (ward number 23) — have been retained as candidates for the December 24 elections.

No candidate has been declared for ward number 16 where Sheela Devi is the party councillor. Sources said her candidature was said to be final, but to avoid a conflict, the candidate would be named in the second list. The Congress has five councillors in the current MC House. Jannat Jahan, who was fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, has got the Congress ticket from ward number 4.

The list also has the names of six former councillors and a former Mayor. Most candidates come from a business background.

Denying any “parivarwad”, city Congress chief Chawla said, “They have been considered as they were active in the party for a long time and not because of ‘parivarwad’. We have a balanced team, with mostly young faces. We have given a representation to all communities.”

List triggers arguments

Heated arguments were witnessed after the names of candidates were announced. One of the probable candidates

questioned city Congress president Subhash Chawla why some outsider given the ticket and not him. On this, Subhash Chawla said the election committee had finalised the names.

Ward No. and candidate

2 Harmohinder Singh Lucky, ex-Deputy Mayor, lawyer

3 Ravi Thakur businessman, Congress leader

4 Jannat Jahan ex-BSP councillor, homemaker

5 Darshana Rani wife of ex-Mayor Gurcharan Dass Kala

6 Mamta Giri homemaker, daughter-in-law of district Congress president

7 Om Parkash Saini Congress leader, chairman of door-to-door garbage collectors’ society

8 Thakur Kartar Singh former sarpanch of Mauli Jagran

9 Mamta Devi homemaker, Mahila Congress leader)

10 Harpreet Kaur homemaker, Leader of Opposition Devinder Singh Babla’s wife

11 Rajiv Moudgil businessman, district Congress president

12 Deipa Asdhir Dubey lawyer

13 Sachin Galav NSUI leader

14 Sumit Chawla businessman, son of city Cong president

17 Naseeb Jakhar INTUC president

18 Saroj Sharma (homemaker, daughter of ex-Deputy Mayor Pushpa Sharma

19 Kamlesh Banarshi Dass, ex-Mayor

21 Basant Singh Chaudhary Congress leader from Faidan

22 Balwinder Kaur homemaker and sister of Babla

23 Ravinder Kaur Gujral councillor

24 Jasbir Singh Bunty businessman, district president

26 Gurcharan Singh, Congress SC leader

27 Gurbax Rawat, IT firm employee, councillor

28 Nirmala Devi, Mahila Congress activist

29 Jagjit Singh Kang ex-councillor, brother of former Punjab minister Jagmohan Singh Kang

30 Atinder Singh Robby son of ex-councillor Bhupinder Singh Badheri

31 Satish Kumar Kainth two-time councillor)

32 Abhishek Sharma Shanky businessman, Youth Cong leader

33 Vijay Singh Rana ex-Deputy Mayor, businessman

34 Gurpreet Singh Gabi businessman, city Cong gen secy

35 Davinder Kumar Gupta, ex-chairman of Housefed, Chandigarh, son of former Congress president Kulbhushan Gupta