Day 1: Mayor meets councillors, party workers, representatives

Sharma said that she first called up all the councillors to “invite them to her office, seek their blessings, and tell them that the mayor’s chair will now be run by all the 35 councillors in a joint effort.”

“This year, I will ensure that politics does not hamper the development of the city. The mayor does not belong to any party, and has to ensure that all councillors work together for the benefit of residents,” said the mayor. Throughout the day, several councillors including senior deputy mayor Rajesh Gupta, Congress councillor Subhash Chawla, and deputy mayor Gurbax Rawat came to meet her. Her rival candidate from the BJP, Heera Negi, also came to congratulate her.

“Both of share cordial relations with each other, and I told Negi that we could both share the mayor’s chair as there was no competition between us. Nobody is a winner or a loser, and everybody’s desire is to serve the city. All councillors should consider themselves the mayor,” said Sharma.

Later, Sharma visited Gupta and Rawat, who also joined their respective offices on Thursday. Gupta said that Negi and another BJP councillor Rajinder Kaur Rattu came to welcome him along with various other well-wishers. “I spent the entire day in the office today and met various people. My doors will remain open to everyone at all times and I’ll serve city residents to the best of my abilities,” he said.

Meanwhile, deputy mayor Gurbax Rawat said that came to her office along with her family members and sought their blessings before taking charge. She said that apart from some councillors, members various Uttarakhand Sabhas and organisations came to welcome her. “In the evening, resident associations from my ward planned a victory procession for me, which came as a pleasant surprise,” said Rawat.