After three decades, BJP bags posts of Shimla Mayor, deputy

Shimla, June 20 (IANS) BJP's Kusum Sadret was on Tuesday elected the Shimla Municipal Corporation Mayor and party colleague Rakesh Sharma her deputy, a first for the state's opposition party in three decades, an officer said.

Urban Development Department Director D.K. Gupta, who conducted the election proceedings, confirmed the election of Sadret and Sharma to the top MC posts.

The party bagged 17 of the 34 seats in the June 17 MC elections, one seat short of a simple majority.

Arch rival Congress, which ruled the civic body for 26 years till the May 2012 elections, bagged 12 seats.

Sharma, who successfully contested as a BJP rebel, threw his lot with the party after the election results were out.

The corporation elections were not held on party symbols, though both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had officially declared their candidates.

"Our party's performance would have been more impressive had the elections been held on party symbols," BJP leader and former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal told reporters here after the voting for the top two posts.

He accused the ruling Congress of deliberately trying to postpone the MC polls in connivance with the State Election Commission.

In 2012, the Communist Party of India-Marxist won the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, who were elected directly, unlike this time.

The Left party thus ruled the civic body with only three members in the then 25-seat house which had a majority of councillors from the BJP.

After the merger of new areas in the civic body, the number of councillors now stands at 34.

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