Cong registers landslide win in Shimla MC polls

Shimla: Making an impressive comeback to power in Shimla Municipal Corporation, a British-era municipality formed in 1851, the Congress party emerged as a big winner with 24 out of the 34 wards in the hill town which also happens to be the state’s capital city.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to secure only 9 wards, a single-digit mark though it had been heading the corporation since the 2017 victory. It was the first time when the BJP had won the Municipal polls in Shimla.

More than this, the elections were held four months after the Congress returned to power showing the supremacy of the party and also the leadership of Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, a four-time MLA and first-time Chief Minister.

The Congress, which had ruled the Municipal Corporation for years, lost its power in 2012 when the CPM lead team with Sanjay Chauhan as Mayor and Tikender Singh Panwar as deputy Mayor got elected, ousting the Congress from its position.

In 2017, it was BJP which got elected to power in the municipal body and later remained in power till June 2022.

The elections could not be held because of some PILs filed in the High Court relating to the delimitation of the wards as the BJP wanted to raise the number of wards to 44 against 34.

After Congress came to power in 2022, the Chief Minister initiated the process for holding the elections and decided to retain the number of wards to 34.

Elections to Shimla Municipal were held on May 2 and results were declared on Thursday after counting of votes.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has also won one ward.

The victory of Congress is significant in many ways as it maintains the trend about the party being in winning as compared to conditions in the country completely against the party.

Even in 2022, when Congress contested the Assembly polls, there was no Chief Ministerial face. Thus, it was the first election contested under the leadership of Sukhu and he proved his organisational skills as well as governance.

The Congress party’s victory can be attributed to their strong showing in some of the important wards. Some of the BJP dominant wards like Boilueganj, Kacchighatti, Tutikandi, Nabha, Lower Bazar, Jakhu, Benmore, Engine Ghar, Sanjauli Chowk, and Lower Dhalli have gone to the Congress.

The Congress played its cards well as the government also had announced financial benefits worth crores in favour of the government employees as arrears of the pay and pensions besides a 3 per cent DA increase. The government, knowing the presence of the employees as majority voters, also granted them regular services on completion of two years as contractual employees.

The BJP tried to woo the voters on two strong points – The failure of the Congress government to fulfil its poll promises and major development works done during 2017-2022 when the BJP headed the corporation. But that seems to have not worked.

The BJP also changed its state party president Suresh Kashyap and appointed senior party leader Rajeev Bindal.

“We were sure from the beginning that the kind of mess which the BJP had created during its rule will be the biggest factor for us to get the citizens’ support for our initiatives and resolutions. We have provided the citizens a responsive government in the state and now we will reform and transform Shimla,” Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu and PCC president Pratibha Singh said jointly.

For the first time, the corporation will have a 61 per cent women presence. There are 21 councillors as women in the 34-member House.