Chandigarh: BJP wins mayor's post, beats AAP-Congress
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scored a win in the Chandigarh mayoral elections, as Manoj Sonkar defeated Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Kuldeep Kumar, PTI reported. The polls saw a contest between the BJP and the Congress-AAP alliance. This election was the first showdown between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc before the general elections and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's surprising switch.
Why does this story matter?
The AAP-Congress combine was hoping to upset the BJP's eight-year hold on the mayor's office. The INDIA bloc is facing several challenges ahead of the general elections. Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann announced that they will contest the general elections alone in their respective states. The loss in Chandigarh is another setback for the INDIA bloc.
BJP's Sonkar secured 16 votes
Manoj Sonkar of the BJP secured 16 out of 36 votes, including ex-officio member Kirron Kher's vote. The candidate from the INDIA bloc received 12 votes, with 8 votes declared invalid. Chaos ensued as AAP-Congress protested the decision to invalidate 8 votes, ultimately resulting in Sonkar's victory. The AAP said it will challenge the decision to invalidate the 8 votes in Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Key contenders in the mayoral race
The Congress had fielded Jasbir Singh Bunty for the post of mayor and Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi for the post of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively. The AAP's candidates for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor were Kuldeep Kumar, Neha Musavat, and Poonam Sandeep Kumar, respectively. Kuljeet Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma were BJP's candidates for the post of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.
800 police personnel and paramilitary forces deployed in the city
To ensure that the voting takes place smoothly, around 800 police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed in the city. An additional three-layer barricade was also put around the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation premises. The mayoral elections, earlier scheduled for January 18, were initially rescheduled to February 6. This decision was made after the presiding officer fell ill. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court intervened, directing the union territory's administration to conduct the polls on Tuesday (January 30).
