Chandigarh: The MC draw of lots on Friday changed the electoral prospects of many councillors ahead of the civic election, as wards they planned to contest from were declared reserved. For others, the draw came as a relief, with previously reserved seats being included in the general category.Of the 35 municipal wards, 16 were included in the reserved category. Of these, seven are reserved for women, including three seats in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.Besides, nine municipal wards have been reserved for women in the general category. After the draw of lots, 19 municipal wards have been declared general wards.Wards reserved for SC candidates were determined in descending order based on the highest percentage of the SC population in each ward, as per 2011 Census data.The seven wards reserved for SC candidates during the MC general election in Dec 2021 were excluded from the exercise. The draw was conducted in the presence of representatives of political parties. Senior members of Congress, AAP and BJP also attended.Some seats that were reserved for women in the 2021 election have now been included in the general category.Among prominent municipal wards that have been reserved after the draw are those of two former mayors, Anup Gupta of BJP and Kuldeep Kumar of AAP. Both wards have now been reserved for women candidates.Besides, the wards of former senior deputy mayors Hardeep Singh and Dalip Sharma have been reserved for women and SC candidates, respectively. The wards of sitting deputy mayor Suman and former deputy mayor Harjeet Singh have been reserved for SC and women candidates, respectively.Box: Parties begin ticket processWith the draw of lots completed, political parties have initiated the process of ticket distribution for the election, scheduled to be held in Dec.All three prominent parties — Congress, AAP and BJP — are assessing possible candidates for each ward and approaching them for tickets. Senior leaders of all parties will have to take various factions into account before taking a final call.Box: Ward distribution–Wards 1, 3, 4, 9, 15, 29 and 32 have been reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates–Wards 3, 29 and 32 have been reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes–Wards 2, 8, 11, 13, 17, 21, 25, 26 and 30 have been reserved for women (general)–The remaining 19 wards — 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34 and 35 — have been declared general wards
