Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 18

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has decided to call a meeting on November 25 to discuss the conduct of impending elections to the 126 urban local bodies (ULBs). Earlier, the Council of Ministers today deferred a table agenda to discuss the matter.

It came up for discussion during today’s Cabinet meeting held through video-conferencing. The ministers sought a special Cabinet meeting for discussion on the subject after the listed agenda items were discussed.

Sources said Local Government Minister Brahm Mohindra followed by other ministers urged the Chief Minister to call a meeting to discuss the subject. Amid the concerns raised by ministers, the Chief Minister decided to call the meeting on November 25. The Local Government Department has been asked to complete the delimitation exercise so that a final call can be taken on holding the elections.

During discussions in the Cabinet, there was a consensus on holding the elections by end of January 2021. A formal notification by the government would be done only after the ongoing delimitation exercise in all ULBs was over and the state would intimate the State Election Commission about its readiness to hold the elections.

Earlier, a Cabinet sub-committee of the ministers, comprising Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Singh Badal, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Vijay Inder Singla and Sunder Sham Arora had unanimously agreed to recommend holding the elections tentatively on October 11 to the State Election Commission. However, it could not be done due to the pandemic.

The sources said once the delimitation was complete and government decides on holding the election, the Election Commission needs two months to complete the process before the schedule is finalised.