Cong captures Jawali, Chowari civic bodies

r Correspondent

Nurpur, January 21

The Congress captured two nagar panchayats at Jawali in Kangra district and neigbhouring Chowari in Chamba district on Thursday. The elections to the posts of president and vice-president were deferred on Monday for the want of quorum in the House for carrying out the election process.

In Jawali nagar panchayat, Congress-supported councillor Rajinder Kumar and ‘rebel’ Meenu Ravi Kumar filed nomination papers for the post of president. Meenu Ravi had revolted and boycotted the election proceedings on Monday alleging that the local Congress leadership, which had promised her the post of president, had ditched her. Another Congress-supported councillor Ajay Vivek Pathania was the lone candidate for the post of vice-president. Polling was held under the supervision of SDM, Jawali, Krishan Kumar and Rajinder got six out of nine votes of the councillors and was elected president whereas Meenu Ravi got the remaining three votes. Ajay Vivek was unanimously elected the vice-president of the nagar panchayat.

In Chowari also, Congress-supported councillor Kusum Devi and Surinder Singh were unanimously elected the president and vice-president of the nagar panchayat. Two BJP-supported woman councillors stayed away from the election process held under the supervision of SDM Bachan Singh. Five of the seven elected councillors participated in the election proceedings. Earlier, the election was deferred on January 18 due to the lack of quorum as only four councillors turned up at the meeting.