As delimitation board approves 50 wards for Mohali, Mayor says AAP govt ‘manipulating boundaries’

Mayor, councillors boycott meeting

The biggest political flashpoint of the meeting was the absence of Congress Mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu, along with councillors Kamalpreet Singh Banni and Jaspreet Singh Gill. Their boycott further intensified the controversy.

The boycotting leaders, in an email to the Director, Local Bodies Department, alleged that the ward delimitation process is “neither transparent nor in accordance with established rules”. “The Mayor and his colleagues stated that as per rules, written notice and the draft delimitation map must be provided to members before such a meeting. However, neither timely notice nor the draft map and supporting data were shared with them,” the mail said.

They added that objections had already been sent via email a day earlier and that they had also approached the office seeking information, but received no “satisfactory response”. Taking a dig at the ruling party, the leaders said, “a government that talks about good governance every day should at least share the draft map and data with elected representatives so that democratic deliberation can take place”.

Opposition accuses AAP of tampering with delimitation

Members of the Mayor group have accused the AAP of “deliberately tampering with the ward delimitation process to tilt the scales in favour of the ruling party in the forthcoming municipal elections”. According to them “in areas where AAP is considered strong, population figures and boundaries have allegedly been adjusted in such a manner that the electoral balance shifts towards the ruling party”.

Political circles are also abuzz with discussions that several localities have been split or merged to redraw wards, a move that could significantly alter the existing electoral arithmetic. Opposition leaders maintain that this is not merely an administrative exercise, but a calculated political strategy.

AAP MLA rejects allegations as baseless

Mohali’s AAP MLA Kulwant Singh has outrightly rejected all allegations, terming them “baseless and politically motivated”. “The entire delimitation process has been carried out strictly as per rules, at the administrative level, and within the legal framework, without any political interference,” he added.

The AAP leader argued that by providing a nine-day window for objections, the government has ensured complete transparency.“ If anyone has a valid objection, they are free to submit it in writing during the stipulated period,” Kulwant Singh said.

Reservation scenario

According to information shared during the meeting, out of the 50 wards, five will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Of these, two wards will be reserved for SC women, while three will be SC General wards, where both men and women from the Scheduled Caste category can contest elections. In addition, wards will also be reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Overall, seven wards will fall under special reservation categories.

As in the previous term, 50 per cent of the total wards will be reserved for women. Odd-numbered wards will be reserved for women, while even-numbered wards will be for General. However, women candidates will still be eligible to contest from General wards.

Why the hurry?

Officials explained that all boundaries must be frozen by December 31, as a new census exercise is scheduled to begin from January 1. For this reason, the process of ward delimitation and boundary demarcation across municipal corporations, councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab is being expedited. In Mohali too, the meeting was convened on a holiday to fast-track the process.

Politics likely to intensify further

Political analysts believe that the new ward delimitation will have a direct and significant impact on the forthcoming Municipal Corporation elections. This, they say, is the reason the opposition is calling it “an assault on democracy,” while the ruling party insists it is merely an administrative necessity.

With the objection process set to begin on Monday, political rhetoric is expected to intensify further in the coming days, making ward delimitation one of the most contentious issues in Mohali’s local politics.