Parveen Saini Becomes Hoshiarpur's First Woman Mayor

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Saturday, 8 August 2026

The Election Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Hoshiarpur has elected Parveen Saini, the first woman mayor of the city. The senior councilor, who has won six successive elections in her 40s and 50s, was elected on Friday, as the ruling Hoshiarpur mayor election (AAP) won all three key offices in the 50-member municipal corporation.

Alongside Parveen’s election, outgoing mayor Surinder Kumar Chhinda was appointed senior deputy mayor, while first-time councilor Sandip Chechi was elected deputy mayor. The appointments came despite dissent among several AAP councilors over the selection of candidates.

The Hoshiarup Municipal Corporation has a strong AAP majority. AAP won 35 out of the 50 wards and Congress grabbed nine seats in the July municipal polls, while the BJP and Independents each got three.

Key Highlights

• Parveen Saini becomes Hoshiarpur’s first woman mayor after six victories
• She secured 26 votes as AAP retained all three posts.
• She takes charge amid dissent over AAP’s candidate selection.

The mayoral election was conducted at the corporation office in the presence of Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner, Hoshiarpur MC Commissioner, Cabinet Minister and election observer Balbir Singh, and local MLA Brahm Shankar Jimpa. Voting for all three positions was conducted through a show of hands.

Parveen received the support of 26 councilors, while Surinder secured 31 votes for senior deputy mayor and Sandip received 20 votes for deputy mayor.

Before the election, Balbir Singh and Brahm Shankar Jimpa held a meeting with AAP councillors and urged them to follow the party’s decision. However, the election exposed dissatisfaction among some members of the ruling party over the candidate selection process.

AAP councillors Jaswant Rai, Balwinder Kumar, Balwinder Katna and Mukhi Ram questioned the selection of the three candidates. They alleged that the names had already been finalised by the party leadership without consulting elected representatives and claimed that seniority had been overlooked.

Jaswant, a two-time councilor, Balwinder, a four-time councilor, and Mukhi Ram, who has been elected to the House for the second time, argued that the statutory procedure required the names of the mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor to be proposed and seconded by elected representatives.

Jaswant described the alleged practice as “lifafa (envelope) culture” and warned that it could affect the party’s credibility if councilors were not consulted on important appointments.

Responding to the concerns, Balbir Singh defended the party’s authority to select candidates, saying, “Everyone can stake a claim, but it is for the party to see whom to elect.”

Parveen’s political journey makes her elevation particularly significant. A homemaker educated up to matriculation, she comes from a family with no political background. She began her electoral career with the BJP, winning two municipal elections on its ticket. She later joined the Congress and won three more municipal elections before joining AAP after her latest victory. During the previous term, she served as senior deputy mayor.

Surinder, who served as mayor during the previous term, had reportedly hoped for another term in the top civic position. However, he was appointed senior deputy mayor instead. His disappointment was visible following the election, as he did not allow supporters to come forward and garland him, unlike Parveen and Sandip.

Parveen is the first woman Mayor of Hoshiarpur, a significant change in civic leadership for the city. Meanwhile, AAP's ability to hold on to all three key positions strengthens its dominance in the municipal corporation, and the opposition to the appointments underscores AAP's internal grievances around consultation, seniority and appointment of candidates.