With the state Election Commission (EC) having issued the notification to hold the elections to the civic bodies of Gurdaspur city, Qadian and Dinanagar on June 10, the district administration has started making preparations to hold a free and fair poll even as opposition parties claim that the ruling party will go all out to ensure that “their candidates win by hook or by crook.”.
The Gurdaspur body has 29 wards. In the previous house, the Congress ruled for the full term of five years by virtue of winning all the wards. Baljeet Singh Pahra, brother of sitting Congress MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra, was the Municipal Committee (MC) chief. He had won unanimously from his ward.
Residents claim that the previous MC had to deal with the garbage issue for much of its time in power. Trash used to be thrown by the MC in an unregulated manner because the body could not take on lease or own a piece of land which could be used as a landfill. However, during the fag-end of its term, the MC did find a piece of land but the project was stalled due to petty politicking.
AAP leader and Halqa in-charge Raman Bahl too is trying his level best to make sure his councillors win a majority of the wards. This development will ensure they will be in a position to control the house.
For Bahl, it will be a litmus test, as in all likelihood, he will be the party candidate for the 2027 elections. He has also remained the MC chief. He was earlier in the Congress before shifting loyalties to the AAP ahead of the MC elections.
It is necessary for leaders to control the MC house because their political survival hinges on who manages the body.
Municipal committees handle key civic services such as road construction, waste management and water supply. Controlling an MC is vital for building political capital.
With only months left before the Assembly elections, both the Pahra family and Raman Bahl are well aware of the political significance of controlling the civic body through loyal councillors.
“Residents often judge and elect their MLAs based on basic civic amenities rather than their actual legislative responsibilities of making state-level laws. The stakes are high this time because assembly polls around the corner,” said a former councillor.
Raman Bahl, say residents, has ushered in a lot of developmental works which will hold his party in good stead. Shifting of a part of the civil hospital back to its original destination in the heart of the city after it was relocated to Babri village, 4 km away, is among the initiatives which the residents speak of highly.
In Qadian, a triangular contest appears to be emerging among the AAP, Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The MC there has 15 wards. In Dinanagar, the stronghold of four-time Congress MLA Aruna Chaudhary, the Congress appears to hold a dominant position.
The last date of filing nominations has been fixed as June 1 while the scrutiny of papers will be done the next day. The results of all the three MCs will be announced on the evening of June 10, the same day when counting takes place. The model code of conduct has come into force.
