Mayoral race intensifies ahead of June 11 polls

Bathinda: Aspirants have kicked off campaigning to win the June 11 mayoral elections across the Barnala, Bathinda, and Moga municipal corporations.In Moga, the mayoral post is reserved for backward classes (BC), with Vikramjit Singh and Vinaypal Kaur emerging as the two main contenders. "All rights to choose the mayor have been given to chief minister Bhagwant Mann," Moga MLA Amandeep Kaur Arora told TOI. In Bathinda, former mayor Padamjit Singh Mehta, son of Punjab Cricket Association president Amarjit Singh Mehta, is the frontrunner. Sources said he is highly likely to secure a second stint. Also in the running are Harbans Kaur, the mother-in-law of Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, and AAP youth wing functionary Mandeep Kaur Ramgarhia. In the Barnala municipal corporation, Hasan Bhardwaj is leading the race. Bhardwaj is considered close to Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, having served as his OSD back when Hayer was a Punjab cabinet minister before his 2024 parliamentary election win. Hayer said the party will evaluate various factors before zeroing in on a final candidate. Other key contenders staking their claims in Barnala include former municipal council presidents Gurjit Singh Ramniwasia and Paramjit Singh Dhillon, AAP trade wing district chairman Rajiv Kumar Lubi, and three-time councillor Dharam Paul. MSID:: 131608509 413 |