Considering the thin majority of the Congress and reports of horse-trading, the meeting was expected to be a stormy affair, but it turned out to be a smooth and quiet affair.
Mahendrasinh Rana was elected the first mayor of Gandhinagar during the first general body meeting of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation on Saturday. Considering the thin majority of the Congress and reports of horse-trading, the meeting was expected to be a stormy affair, but it turned out to be a smooth and quiet affair. Besides mayor, members were also elected to other key posts.
Mahendrasinh Rana was unanimously elected the first mayor of Gandhinagar, and Yusuf Parmar as the deputy mayor. Pravin Patel, who won on a Congress ticket after being denied a ticket by BJP, was named chairman of the standing committee.
Throughout the meeting, which took place in the Gandhinagar District Collectorate, the Opposition BJP members didn't utter a word, and quietly watched the proceedings. The police had made tight security arrangements at the collectorate. GMC municipal commissioner CR Kharsan was also present in the meeting.
Chaman Vinzuda and Hasmukh Makwana were elected as the ruling party leader and deputy ruling party leader respectively, while Bhavnaba Vaghela was named the Whip. All the remaining 12 elected Congress members were named members of GMC standing committee.
Till Friday night, there was anxiety in both parties amid reports of possible horse-trading of the elected members. However, the Congress party took no chance. Congress leader and former deputy CM, Narhari Amin brought all the elected members with him in a convoy of around 25 cars. Amin was seated in the very first car and escorted the convoy, while another party leader, Nishith Vyas was in the last car.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Amin said, "The appointments of deputy mayor and standing committee chairman are for one year as per BPMC Act. However, Yusuf Parmar and Pravin Patel will occupy the posts for two years as they will be reappointed after the year ends."
Asked about the reasons for such a decision, the Congress leader, said, "This is a new corporation and there are many administrative issues that need to be sorted out with the state government. The next two - three months will bring clarity about the work that would be assigned to GMC by the state government. So, these leaders should be given enough time to work for the public from their current posts. After two years, there will be changes in the structure and reappointments in the GMC body."
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