Communities push for tickets as parties woo them for civic body elections

The Uttarakhand Cell of BJP has endorsed the candidature of Heera Negi from ward number 1. The ward is reserved for a woman candidate. Negi is the vice-president of the Mahila Morcha of the party. However,senior leader Harmohan Dhawan’s wife is likely to be given a ticket from here. There are other candidates in the party from this community who are contenders for a ticket. The Uttarakhand cell has also endorsed that ticket be given to the vice-convenor of the cell Deepak Aswal.

A similar cell is present in the Congress. The wife of Birender Singh Rawat,the chairman of the cell is a probable candidate from ward number 9. Rawat says,“The Congress has assured us that the community would be given representation in the distribution of tickets. The community has a strong presence in the city. Especially in Sectors 40 and 41 the numbers are more.”

Apart from people of Uttarakhand,those from Himachal Pradesh also have a substantial presence though there are no separate cells in the parties of this community. Some councillors reportedly won the election due to the strong presence of a particular community in the area.

BJP leader Shakti Prakash Devshali said,“The people from some communities do stake claim to tickets. The tickets,however would be distributed depending on the candidate’s chances of winning. In the city,considerations of community matter less. People vote for candidates based on their capability.”