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| Thanks, NC's support and Cong cross voting: Kavinder is Mayor again | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Mar 5
The gross indiscipline and violation of whip was clearly reflected as some “Congress corporators” apparently cross-voted to elect the BJP candidate as Mayor of the Jammu Municipal Corporation.
It may be mentioned here that the Congress the single largest entity in the Jammu Municipal Corporation and it also enjoys support of two member of the partner Peoples Democratic Party. Despite being numerically strong, this is second time that the Congress has lost Mayor’s post to the BJP due to cross voting.
Despite personal interest of the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and “keen involvement” of Health Minister Mangat Ram Sharma, the Congress lost the post of Mayor to BJP in a humiliating defeat which called for strategy review. Kavinder Gupta of BJP was declared elected as Mayor of Jammu as he defeated Manmohan Singh Pinka of the Congress with three votes.
Had Congress addressed the issue of cross voting in first Mayoral election when its senior leader and corporator Bansi Lal Gupta was pitted against Kavinder Gupta of BJP things would have been in control by now. This second defeat due to the Congress voting may have larger repercussions for the Congress as assembly elections are also round the corner.
The BJP, which has 25 corporators polled 37 votes against 34 by the congress candidate.
Shifting the blame, one Congress legislator said that patron of National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah had directed his party corporators to vote for the BJP candidate to teach a lesson to the Congress which continues to maintain its alliance with the PDP. However, a senior BJP leader, Dr Nirmal Singh, denied that there was any secret understanding between the BJP and the National Conference. He said “the victory of the BJP candidate was a defeat for the unholy Congress-National Conference alliance. Congress circles disclosed that the cross voting in the congress will be probed.
As far as the election to the post of Deputy Mayor is concerned no whip had been issued to party corporators with the result the National Conference candidate, Mr Dharam Vir Singh Jamwal, defeated an independent candidate. Mr Jaswant Singh Sudan. By 10 votes indicating again that Mr Sudan had the support of some congress and BJP corporators. One vote polled had been found blank. Polling pattern has indicated that had all the 27 congress corporators voted for Manmohan Singh his victory was certain because with the support of two PDP and some independent candidate he should have bagged about 40 votes. |
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