Now Reading: Ludhiana civic body defers key committee election to August 29
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Ludhiana civic body defers key committee election to August 29
The municipal corporation House in Ludhiana on Tuesday deferred elections to two vacant Finance and Contracts Committee seats to August 29, after a brief ruckus over the voting mode. AAP councillors sought…
The municipal corporation House in Ludhiana on Tuesday deferred elections to two vacant Finance and Contracts Committee seats to August 29, after a brief ruckus over the voting mode. AAP councillors sought a show of hands while the opposition Congress and BJP demanded a secret ballot. The House unanimously agreed to the secret ballot, nominations closed at 5 pm the same day.
The two F&CC seats fell vacant after the Punjab and Haryana high court set aside the mayor's nominations of two sons of sitting AAP legislators. The court directed a fair election by September 11. The civic body had sought an earlier date of August 25, citing pending development works. The 29 August election will be conducted under videography as per the court's orders.
AAP has nominated Aman Bagga and Yuvraj Sidhu for the two seats. Congress has fielded Gaurav Bhatti, who had challenged the mayor's nominations in court, while BJP nominated Ruchi Gulati. The 95-ward corporation currently has 94 councillors: AAP 41, Congress 29, BJP 19, SAD two and independents three.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) controls the municipal corporation's tendering and contract approvals, making it a powerful body within Ludhiana's civic governance. The high court's intervention came after Mayor Inderjit Kaur unilaterally nominated two individuals, sons of sitting AAP MLAs, to the vacant F&CC seats, a move that bypassed the normal House election process. Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti challenged those appointments, arguing they violated the Municipal Act. The court not only set aside the nominations but prescribed videography for the fresh election to guard against manipulation. The real test now is whether the secret ballot scheduled for 29 August can proceed without the kind of disruption that marked Tuesday's session. With the court-imposed deadline of 11 September looming, any further delay could invite contempt proceedings.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
