Shimla, June 27: The BJP-backed Shimla Mayor and its Deputy Mayor will take oath on Tuesday. They had postponed taking the charge of the capital’s hot seat for a week as astrologers cautioned the saffron party, saying that it faced “the days, which are not believed to be auspicious”. It took the BJP days of round-the-clock effort to keep its 17 Councillors and two rebels — one from the Congress and another one from the BJP — together and then elect its Mayor and Deputy Mayor to constitute the corporation after a long wait of 31 years.The BJP demonstrated its determination during the election outsmarting the Congress both inside and outside the new House during the high-voltage drama.
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor were elected on June 20.According to insiders, guided by saffron party astrologers, new Mayor Kusum Sadret and and Deputy Mayor Rakesh Sharma postponed taking charge of Shimla’s MC, fearing that the “inauspicious time” haunted them. The BJP was taking control of the Shimla MC for the first time.The BJP had scripted history by capturing the oldest civic body on June 20. The party wants to keep it safe for years to come, revealed party workers.
“These days are considered inauspicious by the Hindu astrologers. Kusum Sadret is Shimla’s 13th Mayor, which many believers of numerology, consider it unlucky”, they said. The BJP had insisted that the Director, Local Bodies, should constitute the SMC on June 19 as directed by the High Court. But party postponed taking charge of the city by a week here. Kusum Sadret told The Tribune that they would take charge on Tuesday.
“We expect all councilors will come. We had to delay the takeover because many councilors and our people were not available here all these days”, she added.“Tuesday is auspicious for us and 13 number will be lucky as Shimla got a gift of Smart City from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after the BJP captured the SMC, shunting out the Congress and the CPM”, he commented.
Source Tribune India
