The Chandigarh mayoral election scheduled for today, January 30, has commenced and is currently underway. This year, the mayoral race holds significance as the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), both members of the INDIA bloc, have allied to challenge the BJP’s eight-year dominance for the mayor’s position.
This contest signifies the first face-off between the NDA and the INDIA bloc ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, following Nitish Kumar’s unexpected switch.
Voting is currently underway and is being conducted through a secret ballot. To ensure a secure electoral process, an extensive police deployment has been put in place with approximately 800 police personnel and additional paramilitary forces implementing a three-layer barricade to safeguard the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
Initially scheduled for January 18, the mayoral polls faced a postponement to February 6 due to the illness of presiding officer Anil Masih, coupled with concerns about the prevailing law-and-order situation. Legal hurdles marred the election process, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the Chandigarh administration, in a January 24 order, to proceed with the mayoral polls on January 30, deeming the earlier postponement “unreasonable, unjustified, and arbitrary.”
Also Read:Haryana: AAP to contest Assembly elections alone, Lok Sabha in alliance with INDIA bloc
The court mentioned the necessity for free and fair elections, restraining councillors from being accompanied by supporters or security personnel from other states.
Meanwhile, despite protests from Congress and AAP councillors, Masih, reappointed as the presiding authority, is overseeing the final preparations for the election.
In the 35-member Municipal Corporation House, the AAP and Congress alliance commands a combined total of 20 votes, presenting a formidable challenge to the BJP’s 15 votes, inclusive of 14 councillors and the additional vote of MP Kirron Kher. The magic number for victory stands at 19.
Also Read:Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra enters Bihar day after Nitish Kumar’s U-turn
All political parties involved have adopted a cautious approach, keeping their councillors on the move in anticipation of the polling day.
Strategically nominating candidates for various positions, the alliance has positioned AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar for the mayoral post, while the Congress is fielding candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor roles.
The AAP-Congress alliance is determined to challenge the BJP’s eight-year rule in the region.
Notably, the Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, resulting in the BJP’s victories in those polls. In this year’s elections, the mayor’s seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste category, with Manoj Sonkar representing the BJP and Kuldeep Kumar from the AAP as the contenders.
The senior deputy mayor post will witness Kuljeet Sandhu of the BJP facing off against Congress’s Gurpreet Singh Gabi, while the deputy mayor position will be contested between BJP’s Rajinder Sharma and Congress’s Nirmala Devi.