Ward 10 elections: 5 file nominations

Congress nominee Bhupinder Singh Badheri has wife Jasbir Kaur as his covering candidate. President of Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee B B Bahl,Madhu Bansal,wife of Union Minister Pawan Bansal,councillors and other party leaders came out in support of Badheri.

Akali-BJP combine candidate Malkit Singh also filed his nomination naming Harjit Singh as his covering candidate.

Flanked by other party leaders,Malkit Singh interacted with residents after filing his papers.

Apart from the two bigwigs,there are three independent candidates in the fray — Nirmal Kaur Good,Mohammed Kamil and Varinder Guleria.

The byelections are being held following the death of area councillor Gurnam Singh. Campaigning has started in the ward which comprises Sectors 41 and 42 and Buterla and Attawa villages.

Meanwhile,Congress has decided to divide the ward into zones and then launch its campaign focussing on personal interaction.

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal is likely to campaign in the city to muster support for the party candidate.

The BSP,on the other hand,has decided not to field a candidate or extend support to any party in the ensuing election.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday,BSP convenor Harmohan Dhawan said Akali leaders had approached him to extend support to their candidate.

“The policy of our party is such that we cannot have an alliance with either the BJP or the Akali Dal. We had promised support in case Malkit Singh contested as an Independent and not on a party symbol. The Akalis had agreed to this condition but it could not happen due to some objection from BJP leader Satya Pal Jain. BJP can test its popularity and see where it stands,” said Dhawan.