Chandigarh mayoral elections postponed as presiding officer falls sick, Cong-AAP councillors protest
In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. It also has an ex-officio member MP (Kirron Kher) who has voting rights. The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.
Chandigarh mayoral elections: The Chandigarh mayoral elections, scheduled for today, have been postponed till further notice as the presiding officer falls sick. The Congress and AAP councillors alleged that they were not being allowed to go inside the municipal corporation office.
Presiding officer falls sick
A letter issued by Joint Commissioner Isha Kamboj regarding the deteriorating health of Presiding Officer Anil Masih, appointed for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections, came to light. It was written in the letter that Anil Masih has informed him on the telephone that his health is not well and hence he is unable to come for the mayor elections to be held today.
“It is informed that a telephonic message has been received regarding the 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 to restrict the entry in view of the law and order situation until further orders are received," the letter reads.
AAP, Congress on postponement of polls
The announcement sparked protests from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, which had joined forces for the mayoral elections.
After the polling was postponed, AAP MP Raghav Chadha alleged that the BJP is scared of the I.N.D.I. alliance as they are winning this election and the BJP is losing. "BJP is scared of I.N.D.I. alliance. This was a small election. This is the situation in it. It is clear from this that in 2024, when the Indi alliance will contest elections together, what will be the condition of the BJP? 135 crore people of India will give a befitting reply to BJP," he said.
The AAP leader further said that they have decided to approach the High Court for justice and ensure that the mayoral election is held. "We request the EC to appoint another presiding officer if the existing one has fallen ill but the election should take place today. We had a valid pass to enter the election building, but we were told that entry had been closed as the presiding officer had suddenly fallen ill. To end democracy and free and fair elections in the country, BJP will do anything," he added.
Chandigarh Congress chief Harmohinder Singh Lucky said, "The 'Operation Lotus' has failed in Chandigarh. They (BJP) can sense their defeat. They lost morally when they did not even turn up (to cast a vote). We (AAP and Congress) all are here to cast our votes. This shows that the BJP cannot accept their defeat."
Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal slammed the BJP and alleged that they wanted to stop the election. "I have been informed that we (Congress workers and councillors) are not being allowed to go inside (the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation office) because the presiding officer is not well and has been hospitalised. They (BJP) want to stop the election. We will move to the High Court," he said.
Chandigarh mayoral elections
The mayoral polls this time assume significance as the Congress and AAP (both INDIA bloc members) have joined hands to contest the elections to oust the BJP from the chair of mayor which it has been winning for the last eight years.
The mayor is elected by the councillors through secret ballots. Hence, the possibility of cross-voting cannot be ruled out. The Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP's victory in the mayoral polls.
Elections for the three posts (f mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor) are held every year during the five-year term of the House. This year, the mayor's seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. This time the mayor will be elected for the third term.
According to news agency PTI, for the mayor seat, the BJP has fielded Manoj Sonkar while the AAP has nominated Kuldeep Kumar Tita. For the post of senior deputy mayor, the contest will be between BJP's Kuljeet Sandhu and Congress's Gurpreet Singh Gabi. For the post of deputy mayor, the BJP has fielded Rajinder Sharma while the Congress party's nominee is Nirmala Devi.
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation consists of 35 members, where the BJP commands a presence with 14 councillors. Additionally, there is an ex-officio member, MP Kirron Kher, affiliated with the BJP and possessing voting rights. The AAP holds 13 seats, the Congress has seven, and the Shiromani Akali Dal represents one councillor in the municipal assembly.