Prithvi Raj Sawhney new Mayor; CWG, clean & green Delhi priority

New Delhi, Apr 30 (UNI) BJP councillor from Janak Puri (South) ward Prithvi Raj Sawhney today became Mayor of Delhi after defeating Congress' Tulsi Ram Sablania by a huge margin of 90 votes in a one sided contest.

Mr Sawhney secured 178 votes out of 275 total votes polled in the election while his nearest rival Mr Sablania managed only 88 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Hari Chand Kardamwithdrew his nomination just before the commencement of the election procedure.

Mr Sawhney will replace his party colleague, the incumbent Mayor Kanwar Sain at the coveted post.

Mr Sawhney, a former teacher, has been holding the post of Chairman of Education Committee of Municipal Corporation of Delhi since his re-election in 2007.

He also remained Member of the MCD from 1997-2002 and heldvarious important posts including that of Chairman, Standing Committee,Conservancy, Sanitation and Engineering and Health Committee.

Before entering into politics, he had taught in Jammu College and in different schools of Directorate of Education for 30 years.

Addressing mediapersons, Delhi's first citizen MrSawhney said, ''I have been elected in a very important year not only for Delhi but also for the whole nation as Commonwealth Games will be organised in the Capital.''

Saying that the successful organisation of CWG is a question of prestige for the country, he urged the Delhi government to be more supportive.

''If needed, we will meet Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and LtGovernor Tajendra Khanna for their support to make the Gamessuccessful. Seventy per cent of the workin Delhi is to be done by the Corporation for which we expectsupport from the Chief Minister,'' he stated.

The Mayor also kept clean and green Delhi on top of his priority list as he asserted that it was the responsibility of the civic body and ''we will fulfill our responsibility.''

Chidambaram inaugurates tallest building of Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today inaugurated the new headquarters of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the tallest building in the capital.

The Rs 650-crore building, situated at the Minto Road-Jawaharlal Nehru Marg intersection, boasts of a completely moderninfrastructure, including two helipads, a 1000-seater auditorium, art gallery and restaurant.

Praising the newly-constructed Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre for its world class standard, Mr Chidambaram said, ''This civic centre has been long overdue and we are truly proud of this magnificent building that will be a landmark for many years to come.''

The work of the civic centre does not stop with the inauguration and every road, school, hospital, electricity connection, parks in Delhi should be touched by quality, he added.

''Residents of a country take pride in world class things so there should be no compromise in quality,'' Mr Chidambaram opined.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani was the chiefguest on the occasion, while Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Delhi UrbanDevelopment and Finance Minister A K Walia and Leader of Oppostion in Assembly V K Malhotra graced the dias.

Mr Advani expressed happiness that the Civic Centre had beennamed after an able leader and patriot Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The new 28-storey building will bring all the policy makers and offices of the corporation under one roof. The civic body looks after around 1400 sq km (96 per cent) of the Capital's area.

Many leaders in MCD hoped it would bring a change in the work culture of the corporation.

Sawhney emerges as a strong BJP candidate for mayor post

New Delhi, Apr 26 (UNI) Banking on the BJPs majority in the house, Pritivi Raj Sawhney who filed his nomination today, has emerged as a strong party candidate for the mayor post.

Amid air of discontent in the party, Mr Sawhney and Mr Rajesh Gehlot today filed nomination for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively as thenomination process came to an end this evening.

From the Congress, Tulsi Ram Sablania, councilor from Karol Bagh, and Saranjit Sharma, from Pandav Nagar, filed their nomination for Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has made the contest triangular by fielding its candidates. Hari Chand Kardam and Sanjay Gupta presented their papers for the two posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively from the party.

Though it seems to be a one sided contest with the BJP occupying 172 out of the 272 seats in the House, the Congress is hoping against hope and calculating its chances on the reported discontent in the BJP.

''We are in continuous contact with several BJP councilors who are not happy with the decision of theirleadership. There will surely be cross voting during election. If our calculations go right, Mr Sablania will be the new Mayor,'' Leader of Oppostion in the MCD Jai Kishan Sharma said.

Three candidates also filed nomination for the posts of member of standing committee, lying vacant. Mr YogendraChandolia and Ms Sarita Choudhary of the BJP and Mr Jai Kishan Sharma of the Congress filed their papers.

These candidates have virtually won the contest as there are only three nominations for the three posts. Though two of its councilors are not eligible for voting, the BJP controls 175 votes including five MLAs in the MCD house. The Congress has 73 councilors plus eight MLAs and MPs each in the House while BSP has only 16 votes.