After a little-known Mayor, Gurgaon gets a plus one: her husband as advisor

This comes amidst another controversy the Mayor is embroiled in over a fake caste certificate that she allegedly used to contest the Gurugram municipal seat, which is reserved for the OBC-A category in Haryana.

On April 21, an order was issued by Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner Ashok Garg appointing Tilak Raj as Raj Rani’s “advisor”, adding that this was as “per the request received from the Mayor, Municipal Corporation Gurugram”.

The order says Tilak Raj “shall function in an advisory capacity and shall assist the Hon’ble Mayor in matters as may be assigned to him by Hon’ble Mayor from time to time,” adding the “appointment is purely honorary and voluntary in nature”.

State Congress leader Pearl Choudhary said “the move is a mockery of the Indian Constitution”. Questioning the authority of the Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner in issuing the order, Choudhary said: “When you give women political space, they should also have the power to be able to participate. Did they not find a suitable candidate for Mayor among their many party workers… Why did they choose someone who would make her husband an advisor? What if her husband gets access to the official files?”

Male relatives taking oath or working on behalf of women leaders is a problem across the country, particularly at the panchayat level, where they are known as “sarpanch pati”.

The issue has also been taken up by the Centre. In February, a panel constituted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj recommended “exemplary penalties” for proven cases of proxy leadership as a measure to curb the practice of “Pradhan Pati”, “Sarpanch Pati” or “Mukhiya Pati” in panchayats across the country.

Questions over caste certificate

Details of Malhotra’s early life, education, or career before politics remain sparse but her family has had a long association with the RSS.

She emerged on the scene ahead of the mayoral elections, which was her first electoral outing. The BJP banked on her Punjabi OBC identity to consolidate votes in a city with diverse demographics after consultations with heavyweights such as Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh and Haryana Minister Rao Narbir Singh.

In the March 2 election, Malhotra won against the Congress’s Seema Pahuja, a seasoned two-time councillor, with a margin of nearly 1.5 lakh votes. Malhotra’s campaign was relentless, involving 30 to 40 daily meetings, housing society outreach, and a robust social media push.

Top BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and state president Mohan Lal Badoli, rallied behind her, with promises of better water supply, waste management, and flood control. The BJP manifesto also laid out a civic development roadmap.

On April 9, one Yashpal Prajapati (along with others) filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court claiming that Malhotra and Pahuja were not from the OBC-A community that the mayor seat was reserved for. The plea stated that Malhotra was actually from the Jat community, and had wrongly declared herself as being from the Sonar/Sunar community.

As mayor, Malhotra oversees the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon. She is responsible for infrastructure coordination with the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority as well as sanitation, water supply, drainage, and public health. The corporation has an annual budget exceeding ₹1,000 crore.

Her term ends in 2030.