With the results for Ludhiana Municipal Corporation delivering a hung house verdict with no party winning a clear majority, all eyes are now on the process to elect the new Mayor. Even though AAP has won the highest number of seats, it could still be anybody’s game in Ludhiana MC.
Of 95 wards in Ludhiana, AAP won 41, Congress 30, BJP 19, SAD 2 and 3 others have been won by Independents. AAP is seven seats short of the half-way mark.
However, apart from the 95 councillors who are the elected members, Ludhiana MC also has seven urban MLAs as ex-officio members, all of them currently belong to the AAP (north, south, east, west, central, Atam Nagar and Sahnewal).
According to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, ex-officio members of the House “comprise the members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly representing the constituencies in which the City or any part thereof falls.”
However, AAP would still be walking the tightrope even if votes of seven MLAs are added to its kitty. According to experts, if all 95 elected councillors along with 7 MLAs are present on the day of voting for the Mayor, the total members would be 102, and the votes of at least 52 members would be required to elect the new Mayor, while AAP’s total votes would be 48.
In the other possible scenario, things can become easier for AAP if some members from other parties give voting day a miss.
In yet another possibility, Congress with 30 seats, BJP with 19, SAD with 2 and 3 independents (total 54) can get together to keep ruling AAP out of the race for Mayor’s post.
Ashok Bajaj, former additional director (local government) who has also served as Ludhiana MC joint commissioner and legal advisor for the civic body, said that as per rules, what matters is not the overall majority but the number of votes secured by the mayoral candidate on the voting day.
“The candidates who get the highest votes will be elected mayor, the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. For instance, even if only 40 members vote that day, the candidate with the highest number of votes will win. So a lot depends on how many members are present on voting day. The ex-officio members (MLAs) are also allowed to vote as per the rules,” said Bajaj.
Rules for electing a Mayor in Punjab
According to The Punjab Municipal Corporations Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor Election Rules, 1991, “A meeting of the [members and ex officio members] of a Municipal Corporation shall be convened by the Divisional Commissioner to elect a Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor.”
The rules add that there would be no election in case there is only one candidate proposed for Mayor’s post but there would be a proper election if there is more than one candidate, and the one getting the highest votes would be declared the winner.
“In the case of election to the office of the Mayor,- (i) if there is only one candidate he will be declared to have been elected; (ii) if there are more than one candidate, the candidate who obtains the largest number of votes shall be declared to have been elected,” reads the rule.
Bajaj added that while 1991 rules said that the election for three posts should be conducted via secret ballot papers, this was amended in 2001. “The election is now held by show of hands as per the amendment notified by Punjab government on April 19, 2001. It is not even binding on all members that they must vote, it’s their choice and they can even opt out,” he added.
A legal expert in civic affairs, said that the AAP can now try to bring three Independents on their side, or enter “arrangements” with councillors of other parties to ensure that they do not attend the voting.
If AAP proposes their Mayoral candidate, and Congress-BJP-SAD together propose theirs, the one getting the highest votes will win.
Sanjay Talwar, Congress’s district president for urban Ludhiana, said that they can consider going with the BJP to propose a Mayoral candidate. He said that AAP was already trying to lure their elected councillors with posts but “none of them want to go with them.”
“Our councillors want to go with BJP. AAP has disrespected every opposition party, so we can go with the BJP and SAD but will never support AAP,” he said.
AAP MLA Madan Lal Bagga said: “The divisional commissioner will be inviting us to propose Mayor candidate as we have the highest numbers and MLA votes.”
Rajnish Dhiman, district president, BJP said that they can ponder over going with the Congress “for the betterment of Ludhiana city and its people.” “We can go with the Congress if our high command allows but won’t be supporting AAP,” he said.
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