Congress candidate Dinesh Agarwal filed his nomination papers for the mayoral post of Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) on Tuesday. The opposition party used it as a show of its strength as a huge procession was taken out which accompanied the candidate.
Agarwal reached MCD office with a huge procession which started from the State party office located on Rajpur Road. Before the procession started, the Congress’s mayoral candidate was garlanded by the party leaders and workers. Among those present was the State Congress president Pritam Singh.
Agarwal said after he filed his nomination papers that development of all the 100 wards of the civic body would be his top priority if elected the mayor. “I am in the city for over 40 years and I am perfectly aware of the problems the residents face here,” he said.
He said that as the party has reposed its confidence in him it is the time to take everyone along. “I am receiving support from the rank and file of the party aside from the support of every section of the society,” the former State Forest Minister said.
Lashing out at BJP, he said that all development works in the city have remained over the past ten years BJP helmed the civic body and the people are now looking up to the Congress with hope of change.
The independent candidate and secretary of Uttaranchal Bank Employees Union Jagmohan Mehendiratta also filed his nomination papers on the day for the mayoral post.
His candidature is supported by many employee unions, social organisations and statehood activists aside from those fighting for declaration of Gairsain as the permanent capital of the State. Mehendiratta said after filing his nomination that sanitation over the past ten years has not improved a bit despite BJP having its mayor to run the civic body.
Meanwhile, traffic snarls continued on the second consecutive day on major roads of Dehradun city on Tuesday. Traffic was either stuck or it just crawled during the time the processions were taken out.