Will make Swachh Bharat a success: Prayagraj mayor

PRAYAGRAJ: Newly elected mayor of Prayagraj Umesh Chandra Ganesh Kesarwani of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the newly elected corporators of Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) took oath of office at KP College ground here on Friday.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Phulpur and Allahabad (Prayagraj) MPs Keshari Devi Patel and Rita Bahuguna Joshi respectively besides former cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh were also present on the stage during the swearing-in ceremony.

Amidst loud slogans being raised by BJP workers, Prayagraj divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant administered the oath to the new mayor before a crowd of around 5,000 people.

The venue was dominated by saffron colour right from the chairs to the overhead saffron and white striped tent, carpets as well as the headgears worn by the new mayor, many BJP corporators and guests present on the dais. The outgoing 90 corporators who completed their terms were also present during the ceremony as specially invited guests.

Keeping with the tradition, outgoing mayor Abhilasha Gupta Nandi, also from the BJP, formally handed over a 7kg silver mace to Kesarwani as a symbol of transfer of power from her to him as Prayagraj’s first citizen.

After this, mayor Ganesh Kesarwani administered the oath of office to the newly elected 100 corporators in batches of 10 each in the same ceremony.

Among the 100 corporators sworn in, 56 were of BJP and 19 independents. Sixteen corporators of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and four of the Congress were also sworn in.

Likewise, two corporators each of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) besides one of Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (NISHAD) party also took oath of office on the occasion.

After taking oath, the new mayor took a pledge to run an awareness campaign in one locality in the city every month to make PM Narendra ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhiyan a success.

This oath was administered to him by deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya. Kesarwani said making Mahakumbh-2025 truly grand and divine would be the top priority for him.