Cong. regains control of Ahmedabad Corpn.

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, OCT. 16. After more than a decade, the Congress(I) has regained control of the prestigious Ahmedabad and the Rajkot municipal corporations and the BJP of Surat, Baroda, and Jamnagar municipal corporations in Gujarat in the mayoral elections held amidst hectic political activities today.The BJP is already placed comfortably in Bhavnagar and is sure to retain the local body when the mayoral elections are held in the coastal town in the Saurashtra region on October 20.

In view of the virtual touch-and-go situation in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Jamnagar municipal corporations, where the electorate did not give a clear verdict in favour of either the Congress(I) or the BJP in the civic elections held earlier this month, the situation remained fluid till the last moment, encouraging horse- trading of the corporators belonging to the rival parties.

The Congress(I), which won 62 seats in the 129-member Ahmedabad municipal corporation, with elections for three seats in the trouble-torn Dariapur ward scheduled to be held tomorrow, herded all its elected members to a nearby resort and kept them under strict vigil of the senior leaders to prevent the possibility of being contacted by the rival BJP which won 59 seats in the board.

Mr. Himmatsinh Patel, the former state youth Congress(I) president, however, was formally elected Mayor and Mr. Khemchand Solanki Deputy Mayor of the city civic body with the support of three of the five independents. In the 12-member standing committee, the powerful policy- making body of the municipal corporation, the Congress(I) would have seven members and the BJP five.

The mayoral elections was preceded by noisy demonstrations for about two hours and ugly scenes including throwing of pin cushions and other missiles on the dais, as the rival BJP members attempted to play a trick demanding that the former Mayor, Ms. Maliniben Atit, should preside over the election meeting.

Similar disturbances were also witnessed in Baroda where the BJP had just one seat more than the Congress(I)'s 34 in the 78-member municipal corporation. The BJP, however, retained power with the last-minute support from the three-member Samata Party, its alliance partner in the NDA government in Delhi, and two independents.

While the transition was smooth in Rajkot and Surat, where the Congress(I) and the BJP respectively have absolute majority, the BJP retained control of the Jamnagar municipal corporation by securing support of seven of the 15 independents in the 51-member House.

The Congress(I), which could claim only six seats against the BJP's 23, had very little chance to dethrone the BJP but the ruling party leaders adopted a very cautious approach in view of the presence of the Samajwadi Party, which has seven seats and together could upset the BJP apple cart if managed to get the support of the independents.

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