The BJP on Monday appointed senior party leaders as conveners to oversee the election process for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the Municipal Corporations of Mandi, Dharamsala and Solan, where the party secured a majority in the recently concluded civic polls.
State BJP president Rajeev Bindal entrusted key leaders with the responsibility of coordinating with newly elected councillors and ensuring the smooth conduct of elections for the top civic posts. The move is also being viewed as a precautionary step to prevent any possible attempts by the ruling Congress to win over BJP councillors ahead of the mayoral elections.
For Mandi Municipal Corporation, Rajya Sabha MP Sikander Kumar and state BJP general secretary Payal Vaidya have been appointed conveners. In Dharamsala, the responsibility has been assigned to MLAs Bikram Singh and Pawan Kajal, while in Solan, MLA Balbir Verma, state BJP vice-president Bihari Lal Sharma and state general secretary Sanjeev Katwal will oversee the process.
The conveners will work towards building consensus among BJP councillors and finalising candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. While the BJP emerged dominant in Mandi, Dharamsala and Solan, the Congress managed to register a notable victory only in the Palampur Municipal Corporation elections.
