Chandigarh mayor election postponed; AAP, Congress term it BJP's ploy
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation mayoral election scheduled to be held on Thursday was postponed after nominated presiding authority, Anil Masih, fell sick. The decision prompted strong protests from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of resorting to undemocratic ways to avoid defeat. Following the announcement, both AAP and Congress councilors demonstrated outside the civic body building.
Why does this story matter?
The election was seen as the first direct contest between the opposition bloc, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), and the BJP. For it, the AAP and Congress had formed an alliance. The BJP has the most councilors (14 out of 35) in the municipal corporation house. The AAP ranks second, with 13 members. The Congress and SAD have seven and one councilors, respectively. The combined strength of the AAP and Congress is sufficient to win the mayoral elections.
Know what the order said
The official order read, "It is informed that a telephonic message has been received regarding ill-health of Sh Anil Masih who has been nominated as presiding authority for the meeting scheduled on 18.1.24 for the post of mayor u/60 (a) read with Regulation 6(1) of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation(Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulation, 1996." "It is requested not to reach the MC office till further orders."
BJP knew that they were to lose: Pawan Kumar Bansal
Congress leader and former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, who was among those who reached the building to protest, accused the BJP of using this tactic to dodge defeat. He stated, "The BJP knew that they were to lose. That is why they played this ploy. Had they been fair, another presiding officer would have been appointed immediately if the previous one is said to have fallen ill." The Congress plans to take legal action against the election postponement.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha calls move a gimmick by BJP
Meanwhile, AAP leader Raghav Chadha called the delay a gimmick by the BJP and announced intentions to seek justice from the high court. The Rajya Sabha MP declared, "We will be knocking on the doors of the High Court now. We will take justice from the court. Just see if in this small election, BJP can get so fearful about our alliance...then what about the alliance on national level."
What was the arrangemnet between the AAP, Congress
As per the Congress-AAP alliance agreement, the AAP would compete for mayoral position, while the Congress would compete for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor positions. The Congress and SAD boycotted the last two mayoral elections, leaving just the AAP to face the BJP. In the 2021 MC elections, the AAP won 14 seats, the BJP 12, the Congress 8, and the SAD one seat.
