Congress-backed Rama Khalko files nomination for post of Ranchi mayor

Ranchi, Feb 3 (PTI) Jharkhand Congress-backed candidate Rama Khalko on Tuesday filed her nomination for the post of mayor in the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC).

Elections to 48 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are scheduled to be held on February 23, and votes will be counted on February 27.

ULB polls in Jharkhand are not contested with election symbols of political parties, though candidates are backed by the parties.

In Ranchi, the Congress party has announced its support to Khalko, while the BJP has backed former ward councilor Roshni Khalko for the post of mayor in the RMC. The JMM is yet to announce the candidate backed by it.

The process of filing nominations started on January 29 and the last date for filing is February 4. The forms will be scrutinised on February 5, an official said.

Jharkhand Congress women’s wing president Rama Khalko was accompanied by the state’s Rural Development Minister Dipika Pandey Singh, Agriculture Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey and other party Congress leaders when she went to file her nomination at the Ranchi collectorate.

“I will be wholeheartedly working for the development of Ranchi, if elected as mayor,” said Rama Khalko.

The BJP-backed candidate is likely to file her nomination on Wednesday, an office bearer of the party said.

Meanwhile, Sudha Gupta, the wife of former Jharkhand health minister Banna Gupta, on Tuesday filed her nomination for the post of mayor in the Mango Municipal Corporation. PTI SAN RBT