NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, MAR 3
The BJP, which recorded a massive victory in the local body polls in Gujarat, will not be able to head two local bodies in the state despite a win due to reservation in allotment of offices of the president of taluka and district panchayats, officials said on Wednesday.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will get to head a taluka panchayat body due to reservation.
Since the seat of the president of Jesar taluka panchayat in Bhavnagar district is reserved for Scheduled Caste, the only SC candidate out of 16 who have won from there belongs to the AAP, which is why he will be made its president, the officials said.
Similarly, despite the BJP winning the Ahmedabad district panchayat body with an overwhelming majority of 30 seats out of 34, the president will still be from the Congress which won only four seats, as the office of the president is reserved for a Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.
The only ST candidate is from the Congress.
Results for municipalities, districts, and taluka panchayats in Gujarat were declared on Tuesday.
The BJP won clear majority in all 31 district panchayats as well as in 196 out of 231 taluka panchayats and 74 out of 81 municipalities.
Out of the 16 seats in Jesar taluka panchayat body, AAP won three, Congress one, and BJP gained a clear majority with 12 seats.
But since the seat of the president is reserved for an SC candidate, AAP’s Atul Naiyaran is the only one qualified for the post since he is from that category, AAP spokesperson Tuli Banerjee said.
Bhavnagar Collector Gaurang Makwana confirmed that the office of the taluka panchayat president in Jesar is reserved for the SC category.
Ahmedabad Collector Sandip Sangle also confirmed that the post of the president of Ahmedabad district panchayat is reserved for an ST candidate.
Congress’ Parul Padhar from Shahpur in Ahmedabad is the only candidate from the ST category, which is why she is qualified to become the president, said the party.
The Congress, the main opposition party in the state, won a clear majority in only one municipality and 18 taluka panchayats in the state, while AIMIM and the AAP also made their presence felt.
