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Congress sweeps mayoral polls

Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

All in Congress kitty: Newly elected Deputy Mayor Harphool Chander Kalyan, Mayor Pradeep Chhabra and Senior Deputy Mayor Anju Beniwala after their election in Chandigarh on Tuesday.

CHANDIGARH: The 16-member Congress swept the mayoral polls in the City Beautiful on Tuesday by winning all the three posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor in triangular contests.

While Pradeep Chhabra was elected Mayor after defeating Gurcharan Das Kala of the BJP-Akali Dal combine and Jitender Bhatia of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Anju Beniwala trounced Surinder Jagota (BJP) and Sarita Devi (BSP) and H.C.Kalyan defeated Gurnam Singh of the Akali Dal.

Till recently the Congress had only 13 elected members in the 36-member house while the Lok Sabha MP Pawan Kumar Bansal has voting right. The Congress received a shot in the arm when two BSP members Vijaypal Singh Rana and R.S.Maurya defected on the eve of the poll. The BJP has a strength of six and the Akali Dal has two members. The BSP, headed by former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan, is left with five members. The nine nominated members also enjoy voting rights.

Mr. Chhabra polled 20, Mr.Kala 10 and Mr.Bhatia five votes while one was declared invalid.

Likewise, Ms.Beniwala polled 20 and Mr. Jagota 11 votes and Mr.Kalyan got 20 and Mr.Gurnam Singh 16 votes.

An exuberant Mr.Bansal, who is the Union Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Chhabra and president of local Congress unit B.B.Bahl said that the agenda was to usher in rapid development, improve civic amenities and make the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation people-friendly.

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