The Newz Radar
SHIMLA: With the Congress winning more than two-thirds of the seats in the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections, the party is all set to appoint its Mayor and Deputy Mayor after a hiatus of 11 years. As the people eagerly await the appointment of the new Mayor, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s close aide Surendra Chauhan (Bittu) is the frontrunner for the post.
A three-term councillor from ward number 28 Chhota Shimla, Surendra is said to be a childhood friend of Chief Minister Sukhu. Incidentally, the Chief Minister used to reside in Chhota Shimla area when he was a child and his father was employed in the Secretariat. Sukhu too remained a councillor from Chhota Shimla for two terms.
In the results announced on May 4, Surendra defeated his nearest rival Sanjeev Chauhan (Pinku) of the BJP by 557 votes, the victory margin being among the highest in the election to the 34-member civic body. Of the 2,253 total votes polled, Surendra secured 1,397 while Sanjeev got 840 votes.
A political analyst said Surendra’s appointment as Mayor appeared imminent as Chief Minister Sukhu was known for rewarding his old associates who stood by him when he traversed the political ladder in the Himachal Congress amid a cut-throat competition from the opposite group that was led by all-powerful six-term Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh.
Though there appears to be agreement among various factions in the Himachal Congress over Surendra’s name, the real tussle would be over who would be the Deputy Mayor. The post is likely to go to a woman as among 34 newly elected councillors, 21 are women. Fourteen of these are from the Congress. The outgoing Mayor, Satya Kaundal, too was a woman.
