After Bathinda, BJP asserts itself in Barnala, Fazilka

BATHINDA: After demanding 50% seats in the Bathinda civic body elections, the BJP has decided to stake claim to more tickets in polls to municipal councils in Barnala and Fazilka as well.
What’s more, the party seems to be willing to go all alone to local bodies polls if SAD fails to meet its demands. BJP Barnala unit has decided to claim at least half the seats in alliance with SAD.However, the party has asked its workers to send applications for contesting all the 31 wards.
Barnala district has four municipal councils with Barnala falling in ‘A’ category and Tapa, Dhanoula, Bhadaur falling in ‘C’ category. “During the previous elections, BJP had contested only 9 seats out of 25 in Barnala and SAD had contested 16. Now we will demand at least 16 seats in 31-member house,” said BJP’s Barnala district president Gurmeet Handiaya. He said that the party would ask for half the seats in other three councils also.
At Moga, the BJP wants to contest 25 of the 50 wards created after the delimitation. Before the delimitation, BJP had contested 10 out of 31 seats. Moga BJP district president Rakesh Sharma said, “We will put forward the demand of 50% seats before the high command but are ready to contest all the seats if the alliance falls through. The final decision will be taken by the party top brass.”
BJP unit of Abohar in Fazilka district also has decided to take on the coalition partner over its claims of contesting on more seats in the coming municipal council elections in the 33-member house.
In a meeting on Tuesday, BJP leaders decided to contest more than 20 seats. At present, SAD has 5 members and BJP has the strength of 19 members in the house of 27. The SAD city unit on the other hand had invited applications for contesting elections in all the wards.