Amarjeet Singh Sidhu elected Mohali mayor
Amarjeet Singh Sidhu, 48, a first-time councillor and the brother of Punjab health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, was elected the mayor of Mohali on Monday morning.
Amrik Singh Somal, a two-time councillor who defeated former mayor and Azad group head Kulwant Singh, was elected the senior deputy mayor while three-time councillor Kuljeet Singh Bedi was elected the deputy mayor during the first meeting of the new General House of the municipal corporation.
Though the mayor’s term is for five years, the three have been elected for just two-and-a-half years, said Balbir Singh Sidhu.
“We have declared that Rishiv Jain will be the mayor after two-and-a-half years, while Narpinder Singh Rangi will be the senior deputy mayor. We will take the decision on the deputy mayor later,” he said, adding that it is an attempt to maintain balance within the party and the names have been decided by the high command.
Earlier, Rishiv Jain, who is a three-time councillor and former senior deputy mayor, and his wife Raj Rani Jain, a four-time councillor, boycotted the election and left after taking the oath. They alleged the Congress had failed to follow the seniority principle while selecting its mayoral candidate.
Punjab cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was present as an observer in the meeting. In the civic body elections held for 50 wards in February, the Congress won 37 seats, while the Azad Group got 10 and three went to Independents.
From liquor, real estate business to politics
Amarjeet, a political greenhorn, won from ward number 10. Popularly known as Jeeti Sidhu, he completed Class 12 from a local school and is looking after his family’s liquor and real estate business in Mohali. He is also a director of the SAS Nagar Central Cooperative Bank Limited.
Amarjeet ran into trouble a decade ago after his name figured in a murder case following a group clash in Balongi in 2010. The case was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the trial is still on.
Opposition councillors boycott elections
All the opposition councillors boycotted the meeting stating that the elections are unconstitutional. In a sign of unity, they entered the House together and soon after taking oath, they walked out.
Independent councillor Manjit Singh Sethi said though the state government has reserved 50% seats for women, not a single mayoral post was given to women. Stating that Amarjeet is a “controversial” person already named in a murder FIR, Sethi said: “How can the city develop under a tainted person?”
