Patna mayor defeats no-trust motion comfortably

PATNA: Patna mayor Sita Sahu succeeded in retaining her post on Friday as just four votes were cast in favour of the no-confidence motion moved against her by 40 councillors, including deputy mayor Meera Devi.
In the 75-member Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) board, 38 votes were required for the mayor to defeat the motion.
A special board meeting of ward councillors was held at S K Memorial Hall here for the floor test. Altogether 63 councillors attended the meeting and deputy mayor Meera started chairing it. However, in a dramatic turn, 27 councillors, including Meera walked out of the hall. Later, councillor of ward number 67 Munna Jaiswal chaired the meeting.
Meera said she “postponed” the meeting as the mayor did not reach on time. “Continuing floor test in absence of councillors is against democracy,” she said.
However, a press release issued by PMC said as per Section 50 (2) of Bihar Municipal Act 2007, if quorum is not formed, the chairperson can postpone it. The press release said Meera had started chairing the meet only after quorum was formed and later left the hall. Ward 48 councillor Indradeep Chandravanshi said the opposition intentionally left the hall as they were running short of votes.
As the proceeding began, councillors Raj Kumar Gupta (ward 35), Tara Devi (ward 62) and Kiran Mehta (ward 53) spoke in favour of the motion, while mayor was defended by ward 38 councillor Ashish Sinha and Chandravanshi.
Chandravanshi said four votes were cast in favour of the motion and four against it. “Voting against the motion was just a courtesy. Other councillors supported the mayor by not favouring the motion. Those who left knew well they won’t not be able to oust the mayor.”
Talking to TOI after winning the no-trust motion, Sahu said, “This is not my victory. People of Patna have won. All the allegations against me were baseless. For the first time in the history of PMC, elected members and officials are working in close coordination. The allegation of favouritism against me was completely baseless. For me, the entire city is important. Some councillors, who are only interested in politics, had misled others.”
Ward 40 councillor Asfar Ahmad criticised some of his colleagues for moving no-confidence motion against the mayor at a time when the city is reeling from Covid-19 pandemic. “It is time to work together and not to do politics for personal gains,” Asfar added.