Shimla, May 15 (IANS): Surinder Chauhan, a close confidant of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, was on Monday elected unanimously as the next Mayor of Shimla.

He is the councillor from ward number 28 that the Chief Minister represented twice.

Uma Kaushal was elected Deputy Mayor unopposed. She represents ward number 10.

The less than five-month-old Congress government in the state on May 4 wrested control of one of India's oldest civic bodies, the Shimla Municipal Corporation, from the BJP, winning 24 out of 34 wards and reducing the opposition councilors to nine from the previous 17.

Chief Minister Sukhu, who started his political career as a councillor from Shimla, had aggressively campaigned for the civic body that was won by the BJP for the first time in 2017 in 32 years.

Congratulating both Chauhan and Uma Kaushal, both third-time councilors, the Chief Minister expressed hope that Shimla would scale new heights in development and get various problems of the city solved under their leadership.

He assured all cooperation from the government in making the city neat and clean, besides to maintain the old glory of Shimla.