New Female Mayors Pratibha Jain & Pinkyben Soni Lead Ahmedabad-Vadodara

Today, Ahmedabad and Vadodara have new female mayors. Pratibha Jain in Ahmedabad and Pinkyben Soni in Vadodara have taken over as mayors.

The appointment of women as mayors is a significant change after much debate and controversy in recent times. The mayor’s position, which was often reserved for women from the general category, is now open to women from any category. This morning at 11 am, in the Municipal Corporation’s general assembly, Pratibha Jain was elected as the mayor, and Devang Dani was appointed as the chairman of the Standing Committee.

Pratibha Jain, the corporator of Shahibaug ward.

She has been appointed as the mayor today as the BJP’s term in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation completes another year. Meanwhile, Jatin Patel, the corporator of Ghatlodia ward, has been announced as the Deputy Mayor. The announcement also includes the appointment of Devang Dani as the chairman of the Standing Committee. Gaurang Prajapati, the corporator of Bhaipura ward, has taken on the role of a political leader from the ruling party.

Officials Appointed in Vadodara as Well

The term of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation completed a year on September 9. Today, Pinkyben Soni’s appointment as the Mayor has been officially announced. Chirag Barot has been appointed as the Deputy Mayor. Dr. Shital Mistri is the new Chairman of the Standing Committee. On the political side, Manoj Patel has become the new leader from the ruling party.

In Vadodara, Which Names Were in Discussion?

Regarding the Mayor’s race, names like Nandaben Joshi, Snehalbahen Patel, Sangitaben Choksi, and former Mayor and Councilor Hemisha Thakkar were being discussed. While for the Deputy Mayor position, names such as Shailesh Patel, Ghanshyam Patel, Dr. Rajesh Shah, and Mahavir Rajpurohit were in the discussion. For the chairman of the Corporation’s powerful standing committee, the names in contention included Manoj Patel (Machho), Chirag Barot, and Ajit Dadhich, who was actively being promoted by a councilor. Dr. Shital Mistri’s name was also in the mix.

In a historic move in the history of municipal corporations in the state, the selection process for new officeholders involved a sensory process for the first time. The announcement for the appointment of new officeholders in all municipal corporations and districts, as the term of BJP powerholders completed, was made by the State President C.R. Paatil. Under this new process, five officeholders will be appointed without any repeat selections. It marked the first time in the history of municipal corporations that a sensory process was employed. It involved politicians, municipal corporation leaders, and councilors presenting the names in the parliamentary board after discussions. After deliberations on all the names, the official announcement was made this morning.

This female corporator’s name was also present.

Pratibha Jain, who was serving as the corporator for Shahibaug ward and as the Chairperson of the Women and Child Development Committee, was chosen as the new mayor. Besides Pratibha Jain, contenders for the mayor’s post included Sheetal Daga from Maninagar ward, Vandana Shah from Navrangpura ward, Sneha Parmar from Vasna ward, and Vaishali Bhatt, the corporator from Naroda ward.

There is a Possibility that the Mayor’s Position may go to someone from the Previous Expansion.

In the 2021 municipal corporation elections, BJP won with 160 corporators elected. Among them, Kiritsinh Parmar was appointed as the Mayor of Ahmedabad. The term of officeholders lasts for one year, and it is set to complete on September 10. Today, the announcement of the new Mayor of Ahmedabad will be made. Several names are in contention for the position, especially from the general category of women. It is highly likely that the Mayor’s post may go to Pratibha Jain, Sheetal Daga, or Vaishali Bhatt, who are currently the frontrunners.

At 10 AM today, the agenda meeting of the municipal corporation will be held, attended by BJP city leaders, including Mayor Amit Shah, Municipal Commissioner Dharmendra Shah, and other city officials and corporators. During this meeting, the announcement of names for the positions of Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Chairman of the Standing Committee will be made.

Following this, at 11 AM, the general body meeting will convene. During this meeting, Mayor Kiritsinh Parmar will hand over the charge to the new female Mayor. Subsequently, the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor will appoint the Chairman of the Standing Committee. The announcement of the Chairman and the members of the 12-member committee, along with other details, will be made during this session.

The Municipal Commissioner will call for the Standing Committee meeting, and the first meeting of the new Standing Committee will take place.

In the municipal corporations and district panchayats, new officials will be appointed as the terms of the current officeholders come to an end. State President C.R. Patil has announced the “No Repeat” theory for these appointments. The appointment of new officials will involve a unique process in the history of municipal corporations, where for the first time, a sense-check process will be conducted.

During this process, the opinions of regional leaders, councilors, city organization leaders, and corporators were taken into consideration. After thorough deliberations on all the names, a decision was reached within the Regional Parliamentary Board. Today, after the discussions, the announcement of the names for the positions will be made.