Four-cornered contest in Abohar civic body poll

The by-election in Ward-22 of the Abohar Municipal Corporation, triggered by the death of councillor Thakur Dass Siwan, is expected to be a four-cornered contest. Traditionally, the main competition had been between the BJP and the Congress, but this time, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have also fielded candidates.

Siwan had been the councillor for three consecutive terms, winning twice on the BJP ticket and once on the Congress ticket. The BJP has now nominated his son, Satish Siwan, who filed his nomination on Wednesday. MLA Sandeep Jakhar suggested that Satish Siwan should be elected unopposed in recognition of his father’s contributions, drawing a parallel to the unopposed election of Suversha Narang after the death of her husband, Satish Narang, the former councillor.

The SAD nominated Anil Kumar, a former MC, who filed his nomination today.

The Congress will field Monu Arya, who is set to file his nomination tomorrow, and AAP is yet to announce its candidate, who will also file his/her nomination tomorrow.