Shimla: Amidst heavy rains lashing the city, the counting for Shimla Municipal Corporation has everyone on tenterhooks as the two main contenders – Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party – remain in a tight squeeze to bag the winner’s crown.
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) social media National Head Chetan Bragta said that with 17 councillors, BJP had got the numbers to stake claim to the Municipal Corporation and the Congress was in no position to get a majority.
As per the latest reports, which are still to be officially confirmed, the Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed victory in the elections with 17 seats. The Congress party has bagged 12 seats, Independents 4 while the CPM has got just one seat.
In such a scenario, the role of independent candidates is critical if the Congress were to stake claim for the corporation. Of the four winning independent candidates, three had contested with Congress support and one had BJP on his side.
Now, even if the Congress party gets support of four independents and one CPM councillor, it will land in a dead heat with BJP at 17 each.
In the fluid political scenario, the coming few hours are likely to see a lot of political activity from both sides.