MC poll: Delimitation of wards notified, 56 of 95 reserved in city

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, October 14

Finally, the state government has notified the delimitation of wards for the Municipal Corporation (MC) in Ludhiana.

With the total number of wards retained at 95, as many as 56 wards have been reserved for different categories for the ensuing civic polls, the government has declared.

A formal notification to this effect has been issued by the Local Government Secretary, Ajoy Sharma.

The development assumes significance as the state government had recently announced the elections to the five MCs in the state, including Ludhiana, between November 1 and 15.

The five-year term of the MC House in Ludhiana had expired in February this year, following which it has been under the administrator’s rule.

As many as 56 wards have been reserved for scheduled castes (SC), women, SC women and backward classes (BC).

While the maximum of 40 wards have been reserved for the women, seven wards each have been reserved for the SC and SC women, and two wards have been reserved for the BC.

The rest of the 39 wards that have been kept open for the general category candidates included ward number 3, 4, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 54, 56, 58, 6, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 74, 76, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92 and 94.

With this, the political activity for the MC elections has also begun.

Reserved & general wards

General (39): 3, 4, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 54, 56, 58, 6, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 74, 76, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, and 94.

Women (40): 1, 2, 7, 9, 11, 13, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 91, and 93.

SC (7): 6, 8, 12, 30, 32, 52 and 72.

SC women (7): 15, 17, 33, 47, 87, 89, and 95.

BC (2): 5 and 78.

Congress ruled last House

The Congress had ruled the previous MC House, after winning 62 of the total 95 seats, in February 2018. The SAD-BJP combine (now separated) was the main Opposition with 21 seats. While the SAD had won 11 of the 48 seats it had contested, the BJP had got 10 of the 47 seats it had fought. The LIP, which had forged an alliance with AAP for the MC polls, had won only eight seats, of which the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) had won seven while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had got just one councillor. The Independents had won the rest of the four seats.

AAP has 13 MLAs

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had scripted history by winning a record 13 of the total 14 Assembly constituencies in a tsunami that swept Ludhiana district in the 2022 General Elections.

While the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was able to retain the Dakha seat, the Congress, the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) were completely decimated by failing to even open their account in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population.

The AAP had won Khanna, Samrala, Sahnewal, Ludhiana East, Ludhiana South, Atam Nagar, Ludhiana Central, Ludhiana West, Ludhiana North, Gill, Payal, Raikot and Jagraon Vidhan Sabha segments.

Both cabinet ministers from the district, which sends a maximum of 14 MLAs, accounting for almost 12 per cent of the total 117 members, to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Bharat Bhushan Ashu in Ludhiana West and Gurkirat Singh Kotli in Khanna were among the stalwarts who had lost the elections.

The LIP had also suffered a major blow with both its two-time MLA brothers – founder Simarjeet Singh Bains and Balvinder Singh Bains – even losing their security deposits in Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South.

The BJP, which fought the Assembly elections separately for the first time after parting ways with the SAD over contentious farm laws, had drawn a blank for the second consecutive time after 2017.

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