With delimitation underway, city abuzz with political activities

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, December 29

With the delimitation process of civic wards on the verge of completion, activities pertaining to municipal elections have started in the city. Aspirants for the ticket of political parties have started making efforts with senior leaders holding meetings to plan the strategy to win the elections.

At a recent meeting of former MLAs and senior Congress leaders, the party decided not to give ticket to turncoats who switched over to the Aam Aadmi Party. There were around 27 Congress councillors who switched loyalties and joined AAP after the assembly elections.

“There are chances that the former Congress councillors who shifted to AAP, may not get ticket from AAP. They would then prefer return to the Congress. They are welcome in the Congress but the party has decided not to give ticket to any turncoat,” said Mahesh Khana, senior Congress leader and MC councillor.

Meanwhile, AAP leaders claimed that the party would give tickets to volunteers who have been serving the party from the beginning. However, the Aam Aadmi Party still does not have a strong booth-level network of activists like the Congress, SAD and BJP. They need experienced candidates to contest the elections,” said Jaswant Singh, an AAP activist.

The sitting MC councillors have started conducting the meeting in their respective areas to address the problems of the residents. Re-carpeting of roads and streets, choking of sewer lines and contaminated water are the major issues affecting the city residents.

The Department of Local Government has asked the MC officials to complete the process of delimitation within a week. On the directions of the Delimitation Board, the MC staff is equalising the population and reconstituting the wards as per the assembly segments. After the completion of the delimitation, the announcement of the municipal election is expected.

Turncoats may not get ticket

At a recent meeting of former MLAs and senior Congress leaders, the party decided not to give ticket to turncoats who switched over to the AAP. There were around 27 Congress councillors who joined AAP after the Assembly elections. The party would give ticket to volunteers serving the party from the beginning, claimed AAP leaders.