The Batala Municipal Corporation is a nagar nigam (municipal corporation) which administers the city of Batala, Punjab. It has 50 members elected with a first-past-the-post voting system and 1 ex-officio member which is MLA for Batala.[1] In 2019 Government of Punjab decided to upgrade Batala Municipal council into Municipal Corporation, earlier it was a municipal council.[2]
| Batala Municipal Corporation | |
| House Type: | Municipal Corporation |
| Preceded By: | Batala Municipal Council |
| Foundation: | 2019[3] |
| Leader1 Type: | Minister in charge |
| Leader1: | Bhagwant Mann |
| Leader2 Type: | Mayor |
| Leader2: | Sukhdeep Singh Teja |
| Party2: | INC |
| Election2: | 19 April 2021 |
| Leader3 Type: | Senior deputy mayor |
| Leader3: | Sunil Kumar Sareen |
| Party3: | INC |
| Election3: | 19 April 2021 |
| Leader4 Type: | Junior deputy mayor |
| Leader4: | Chandra Kanta |
| Party4: | INC |
| Election4: | 19 April 2021 |
| Leader5 Type: | Municipal commissioner |
| Leader5: | Shayari Malhotra |
| Election5: | 24 May 2022 |
| Official Language: | Punjabi |
| Seats: | 51 |
| Structure1: | File:First Batala Municipal Corporation.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 280px |
| Political Groups1: | Government (36)
Opposition (15) Ex-officio
|
| First Election1: | 14 February 2021[4] |
| Next Election1: | 2026 |
| Term Length: | 5 Years |
| Website: | lgpunjab.gov.in |
The Mayor of Batala is the elected chief of the Municipal Corporation of Batala. The mayor is the first citizen of the city. The role is largely ceremonial as the real powers are vested in the Municipal Commissioner.[5] The mayor plays a decorative role of representing and upholding the dignity of the city and a functional role in deliberating over the discussions in the Corporation.[6] In 2019 after upgradation into corporation, municipal commissioner Balwinder Singh was given additional charge of Mayor of Batala. After 1st election Sukhdeep Singh Teja elected the first Mayor.
| S. No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Party | Corporation | Ward No. | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | Balwinder Singh | 18 November 2019 | 17 February 2021 | Non-Partisan | - | - | [7] | |||
| 1 | Sukhdeep Singh Teja | 19 April 2021 | Incumbent | INC | 1st | 30th | [8] | |||
Senior Deputy Mayor
Junior Deputy Mayor
Every municipal corporation in India is administratively headed by a municipal commissioner. While a Mayor is elected to serve as the ceremonial head of a municipal corporation, a municipal commissioner is appointed by the state government from the Indian Administrative Service or Provincial Civil Service (PCS) to head the administrative staff of the municipal corporation, implement the decisions of the corporation, and prepare its annual budget.
| S. No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Balwinder Singh (SDM) | 18 November 2019 | 8 September 2021 | |||
| 2 | Jagwinderjit Singh (PCS) | 8 September 2021 | 24 May 2022 | [9] | ||
| 3 | Shayari Malhotra (SDM) | 24 May 2022 | Incumbent | [10] |
Following is the list of Incumbent CouncilorsColor Key for the Party of the Councilor
According to Section 5 (1) (ii) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act 1976 ex-officio members comprising the members of Punjab legislative assembly representing the constituencies in which the city or any part there of falls.[12]
Thus the person who represents the Batala Assembly Constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly is the ex-officio member of corporation.
Ex-officio member has voting right on par with elected members during the election of Mayor or Deputy mayors in corporation. His vote becomes crucial when a single party lacks required numbers of votes to secure mayor's post or when parties get equal numbers of elected ward members.
Color key for the party of ex-officio member
List of ex-officio members
| S. No. | Name | Party | Tenure | Elected to assembly | Corporation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal | bgcolor= | Shiromani Akali Dal | 19 April 2021 | 11 March 2022 | 2017 | 1st | ||
| 2 | Amansher Singh Kalsi | bgcolor= | Aam Aadmi Party | 17 March 2022 | Incumbent | 2022 | |||
After the up gradation to Corporation the first election for all 50 wards was held on 14 February 2021 and result was declared on 17 February. Total 279 candidates stood for elections. The election programme was as follow:[13] -
| S. No. | Programme | Dates | Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Last Date for filing nominations | 3 February 2021 | Wednesday | |
| 2 | Date for the scrutiny of nominations | 4 February 2021 | Thursday | |
| 3 | Last date to withdraw nominations | 5 February 2021 | Friday | |
| 4 | Date of Voting | 14 February 2021 | Sunday | |
| 5 | Date of Counting | 17 February 2021 | Wednesday | |
| 6 | Date by which election shall be completed | 20 February 2021 | Saturday |
| Party | Wards won | Contested | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian National Congress | 36 | 50 | ||
| Shiromani Akali Dal | 06 | 47 | ||
| Bhartiya Janata Party | 04 | 34 | ||
| Aam Admi Party | 03 | 49 | ||
| Independent | 01 | 92 | ||
| Bahujan Samaj Party | 00 | 7 | ||
| Total | 50[14] | 279 | ||
| Vote turnout | 74,961 | 65% | ||
| Registered voters | 1,15,325 | |||
Color Key for the Party of the Councilor