Chandigarh, May 19
The UT administration is likely to advance elections to the Chandigarh municipal corporation by two months from December as scheduled to October this year. According to sources, preliminary discussions between officials of the administration and the state election commission for the National Capital Territory and the union territory of Chandigarh were held in the city earlier this month.
Considering that elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are scheduled to be held early next year, the election panel said it was finding it difficult to hold elections simultaneously to the Chandigarh MC.
Holding elections to the civic body in New Delhi is a massive electoral exercise. There are currently 272 wards in the MCD and a proposal to increase that number to 408 in next year’s elections had already been cleared by the Delhi cabinet.
The election commission would require at least six months to prepare for the MCD elections, including delimitation of wards and preparation of the voters list. A similar exercise will have to be done for the Chandigarh MC, whose current wards numbering 26 are set to be increased following the proposed delimitation. “Obviously the election commission can’t take up two electoral assignments simultaneously. That’s the reason the Chandigarh MC polls could be held by October”, the sources added.
The sources, however, contended a consensus needed to be worked out on the issues with various stakeholders - the UT administration, the political parties and the election commission. One view was that October was otherwise a “pleasant” month to hold the elections rather than in chilly December.
Even if the elections are held in October, the newly elected councillors will take oath of office with effect from January 1, 2012 along with polls to elect the city mayor.
The UT administration is likely to advance elections to the Chandigarh municipal corporation by two months from December as scheduled to October this year. According to sources, preliminary discussions between officials of the administration and the state election commission for the National Capital Territory and the union territory of Chandigarh were held in the city earlier this month.
Considering that elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are scheduled to be held early next year, the election panel said it was finding it difficult to hold elections simultaneously to the Chandigarh MC.
Holding elections to the civic body in New Delhi is a massive electoral exercise. There are currently 272 wards in the MCD and a proposal to increase that number to 408 in next year’s elections had already been cleared by the Delhi cabinet.
The election commission would require at least six months to prepare for the MCD elections, including delimitation of wards and preparation of the voters list. A similar exercise will have to be done for the Chandigarh MC, whose current wards numbering 26 are set to be increased following the proposed delimitation. “Obviously the election commission can’t take up two electoral assignments simultaneously. That’s the reason the Chandigarh MC polls could be held by October”, the sources added.
The sources, however, contended a consensus needed to be worked out on the issues with various stakeholders - the UT administration, the political parties and the election commission. One view was that October was otherwise a “pleasant” month to hold the elections rather than in chilly December.
Even if the elections are held in October, the newly elected councillors will take oath of office with effect from January 1, 2012 along with polls to elect the city mayor.
Crucial meeting today
The move to have early elections to the Municipal Corporation (MC) in October/November comes up for heated discussion at the meeting tomorrow, as councillors, cutting across party lines, say that they were not taken into confidence. The matter was discussed at a meeting held at the UT Guest House on April 29 under the chairmanship of the state election commissioner Rakesh Mehra and attended by Deputy Commissioner Brijendra Singh, who is also acting as the Commissioner of the MC. Political fallout
If the Chandigarh MC elections are held earlier than scheduled it would entail a reduced tenure of about seven months for current mayor Ravinder Pal Singh. Polls in October would mean the election “model code of conduct” would come into effect by August, giving about two months to the Congress party-ruled civic body to undertake development projects.Highlights
- Elections to Municipal Corp of Delhi scheduled to be held early next year may necessitate advancing Chandigarh MC polls
- Consensus with political parties has to be worked out
- Proposal already doing rounds of administrative circles
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