Congress foils BJP’s bid to capture Dharamshala MC; Mayor, Deputy Mayor poll stalled over quorum crisis
Dharamshala, June 29
A high-stakes political battle unfolded in the Dharamshala Municipal Corporation on Monday as the Congress successfully blocked the BJP’s attempt to install its Mayor and Deputy Mayor by engineering the absence of the required quorum, despite the saffron party enjoying a comfortable numerical majority in the newly elected House.
The dramatic turn of events came immediately after all 17 newly elected councillors were administered the oath of office and secrecy. While the BJP was poised to elect its candidates to the top civic posts, Congress councillors stayed away from the election process. The party also succeeded in ensuring the absence of an Independent councillor, reducing the effective strength of the House below the statutory quorum and forcing the election to be deferred.
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The move is being seen as a calculated political strategy by the ruling Congress to deny the BJP control of key urban local bodies. Similar situations were witnessed in the municipal corporations of Solan and Mandi, where elections to the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor also failed to take place due to the lack of quorum.
Earlier, Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa administered the oath to all 17 councillors at a ceremony held in the Cabinet Hall of the Mini Secretariat.
Congratulating the newly elected representatives, Bairwa said urban local bodies are the backbone of grassroots democracy and called upon the councillors to rise above political differences to ensure the planned and balanced development of Dharamshala.
The councillors who took the oath included Rekha Devi (Ward 1-Forsetganj), Shamsher Nehria (Ward 2-Bhagsunag), Asha Devi (Ward 3-McLeodganj), Neenu Sharma (Ward 4-Kashmir House), Shailja (Ward 5-Khajanchi Mohalla), Karishma Chhetri (Ward 6-Kotwali Bazaar), Ashu (Ward 7-Secretariat), Prerna Guleria (Ward 8-Khel Parisar), Naresh Kumar (Ward 9-Sakoh), Sudesh Shastri (Ward 10-Shyamnagar), Anurag (Ward 11-Ramnagar), Meena Kumari (Ward 12-Barol), Harsh Oberoi (Ward 13-Dari), Anoj Bisht (Ward 14-Kand), Parveen Kumar (Ward 15-Khaniyara), Anupam Katoch (Ward 16-Sidhpur) and Vishal Jamwal (Ward 17-Sidhbari).
After the oath-taking ceremony, officials initiated the election process for Mayor and Deputy Mayor. However, with the mandatory quorum unavailable, the Returning Officer adjourned the proceedings without holding the election.
MLA Sudhir Sharma attended the ceremony along with Municipal Commissioner Zafar Iqbal, Joint Commissioner Surendra Katoch, SDM Mohit Ratna, senior administrative officers and other dignitaries.
The developments have added a fresh political dimension to the civic poll outcome in Himachal Pradesh. While the BJP emerged as the dominant force in the municipal corporation elections, the Congress has, for the time being, prevented the opposition from translating its numerical strength into control of the Mayor’s office in Dharamshala, Solan and Mandi through tactical floor management.
In contrast, the Congress comfortably retained the Palampur Municipal Corporation, where it enjoys a clear majority, electing Radha Sood as Mayor and Neelam Malik as Deputy Mayor unopposed.
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