Three days after the results to Municipal Corporation of Gurugram election were declared, six Independent councillors belonging to the camp of Union Minister of State for Planning and local MP Rao Inderjit Singh formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesdaytaking the party's tally to 20, which is two more than the half-way mark. The BJP had managed to win only 14 of the total 35 wards, while the Independents had won 20 wards.
The six Independent councillors – Dinesh, Naveen, Ashwani Sharma, Rajni, Sunita Yadav and Kuldeep Singh Bohra -- formally joined the BJP in the presence of Mr. Singh and Haryana BJP in-charge Anil Jain in the afternoon.
After the function, Mr. Singh said the BJP had now crossed the half-way mark in the MCG and all the three posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor would now go to the party.
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He also denied allegations of having supported a few Independent candidates against his own party in some wards and added that faulty distribution of tickets was responsible for the poor performance of the party in the municipal elections.
Another camp
BJP sources said that around half-a-dozen rebel BJP workers, who contested and won as Independents in the municipal elections and are said to belong to Haryana PWD Minister Rao Narbir camp, are also expected to return to the party fold on Thursday, further increasing its tally. Around two dozen BJP workers had contested as Independent candidates in the just-concluded municipal elections after they were denied the party symbol and later removed from the party.
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Race for Mayor
Interestingly, the competition for the post of Mayor, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste woman this time, might increase with two woman councillors belonging to this category -- Mithlesh and Sheetal Bagri -- also likely to join the party on Thursday among the six councillors.
Already Madhu Azad, who won on the BJP ticket, and Independent councillor Rajni Sahni, who joined the party on Wednesday, are in the race for the coveted post.
Party sources, however, said that the leadership might work out a formula to decide the three posts. “It is unlikely that the party would risk voting to decide the posts of Mayor and deputies. Since the anti-defection law does not apply in municipality, it might encourage cross-voting between the camps of two ministers. The decision would be unanimous,” said a senior BJP leader.
Decision before Diwali
While the draw of lots could be one formula, the party might offer the post of Mayor to Rao Inderjit Singh camp and the post of Senior Deputy Mayor to Rao Narbir camp. In such a scenario, the post of Deputy Mayor will be held by someone who contested on the party symbol and does not belong to either camp.
However, it might take at least 8-10 days before the city gets its new Mayor and his deputies with Mr. Singh saying that the decision in this regard would be taken before Diwali.