Chandigarh: In today’s mayoral elections in Chandigarh, both the BJP and the Congress-AAP alliance are vying for victory, each confident of securing the mayoral seat. The significance of these polls lies in the joint effort of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, both members of the INDIA bloc, to unseat the BJP, which has held the mayoral position for the past eight years.
AAP’s mayoral candidate, Kuldeep Kumar, sought the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to appoint a court commissioner to oversee the election process to ensure fairness. However, the court, in an urgent hearing on Wednesday night, did not grant this request.
During the hearing, the UT administration acknowledged the withdrawal of nominations for Congress nominee Jasbir Singh Bunty and AAP’s candidates Neha Musavat and Poonam for the positions of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.
Anil Mehta, senior standing counsel, assured the court that the entire election process would be videographed, maintaining transparency. This came as the second petition within 24 hours filed by AAP and Congress.
The Chandigarh Congress president H S Lucky had previously moved the high court with a habeas corpus petition, alleging that the police restricted access to Congress leaders, particularly Jasbir Singh Bunty. The court dismissed the petition after the police explained that the councilor sought security due to the mayoral polls.
Under the Congress-AAP alliance, AAP is contesting the mayor’s seat, while Congress is vying for the positions of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The election for these posts is scheduled for today.
AAP’s Raghav Chadha and Congress’s Pawan Kumar Bansal met ahead of polling, expressing confidence in the INDIA bloc’s success, anticipating it as a precursor to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, BJP holds 14 seats, with an additional voting right for MP Kirron Kher. AAP has 13 councilors, Congress has seven, and the Shiromani Akali Dal has one.
Authorities have prohibited mobile phones, cameras, and electronic gadgets during voting in the MC office’s assembly hall to ensure a fair process. The mayor is elected through secret ballots, introducing the possibility of cross-voting.
Notably, the Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to BJP’s victory in the mayoral polls. This year, the mayoral seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste category, and a senior Congress leader expressed confidence in securing all three posts with the AAP alliance’s total of 20 votes.
The BJP, on the other hand, remains optimistic about the victory of its candidates – Manoj Sonkar for the mayor’s seat, Kuljeet Sandhu for senior deputy mayor, and Rajinder Sharma for deputy mayor.
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