Ticket race heats up ahead of Panchkula MC polls

Sandeep.Rana1@timesofindia.comPanchkula: Political activity in the city has intensified ahead of the MC elections, with the State Election Commission announcing May 10 as the polling date. With less than 10 days left for the last date of filing nominations, aspirants for posts of councillor and mayor are lobbying for party tickets. Leaders and workers of various political parties are actively engaging in meetings, outreach programmes and internal discussions to strengthen their case for nominations.Sources said party offices across Panchkula have witnessed a surge in activity, with contenders trying to consolidate ground-level support and organisational backing. Senior leaders are holding consultations to finalise candidates, keeping factors such as winnability, caste combinations and local influence in mind.Panchkula Congress president Sanjay Chauhan said discussions had already been held with applicants for councillor and mayor posts. "We have had discussions with various candidates who applied for the post of councillors and mayor. Now, we have a meeting scheduled with the Congress committee in Delhi on April 16. There, I will present the list of probable candidates. Names of candidates will be declared after due discussions," Chauhan told TOI.The BJP too, indicated that the candidate selection process was in an advanced stage. Party president Ajay Mittal said, "Our party has always been active, whether it's polls or not. We have screened the candidates and names will be announced soon, as the date of polling has now been declared."Meanwhile, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) said the final decision on contesting the elections would be taken by the party high command. Following the announcement of the polling date, the district unit held an important meeting on Tuesday. In a press statement, the JJP said all party leaders present were of the opinion that the party should contest elections. There was also a consensus on fielding of district president O P Sihag for the post of mayor. Discussions were also held on candidates for various wards. However, the party said the final decision was up to the high command.Congress moves HC:The Congress has again approached the Punjab and Haryana high court against a recent notification issued by the state govt regarding municipal corporation wards. Senior party leader Ravinder Rawal said the notification was incomplete and did not mention all the wards.Election schedule:With the announcement of the elections by Haryana State election commissioner Devinder Singh Kalyan, the model code of conduct came into force from April 13. Transfers of officials and employees in areas concerned have been restricted until the completion of the election process.According to the election schedule, returning officers will issue the notice for nominations on April 15. Candidates will be able to file nomination papers from April 21 to April 25 between 11am and 3pm. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on April 27.Candidates can withdraw their nominations until 3pm on April 28, after which election symbols will be allotted. Polling for all posts will be held on May 10 from 8am to 6pm. Counting of votes for municipal bodies will begin on May 13 at 8am in designated counting centres.MSID:: 130240100 413 |
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