High-stakes Chandigarh mayoral polls today: BJP banks on cross voting

The high stakes Chandigarh mayoral election will take place at 11 am on Thursday in the Municipal Corporation’s Assembly Hall with results to be announced right away. The election will be conducted via secret ballot despite the AAP and the Congress demanding a show of hands given last year’s controversy.

AAP' Prem Lata will take on BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla for the all important Mayor's post. While the AAP has fielded its candidate for the post of mayor, the Congress has put up its candidates--Jasbir Singh Bunty and Taruna Mehta -- for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The BJP has fielded Bimla Dubey for the post of senior deputy mayor and Lakhbir Singh Billu for deputy mayor.

The election will witness a tough contest between the AAP-Congress alliance and the BJP. The Supreme Court on Monday had appointed Justice Jaishree Thakur — a former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court— as an independent observer to physically supervise the Chandigarh mayoral election on Thursday.  

BJP Banks on Cross- Voting

The Chandigarh mayoral poll is being keenly watched across political circles in the backdrop of the ongoing ugly showdown between AAP and Congress in Delhi ahead of the assembly elections there, as well as in Punjab. However, even though the two parties say they have stitched an alliance for the mayoral election in Chandigarh for being the partners of the INDIA bloc, the BJP which does not have numbers in the polls, is highly dependent on expected cross-voting in the INDIA alliance as the Congress-AAP alliance is facing the fear of cross voting.

After three-time Congress Councillor Gurbax Rawat joined BJP, the INDIA bloc is left with 20 votes in House — 13 from AAP, six from Congress, and one ex officio vote of MP Manish Tewari — while the BJP has 16 votes. In the last election, Akali Dal Councillor Hardeep Singh had voted in favour of the BJP candidate but now he has joined the Aam Aadmi Party. In such a situation, AAP's numbers have increased compared to the last elections.

AAP and Congress are going great lengths to prevent further defections, moving their councillors to resorts and hotels. Sources said all six Congress councillors have been shifted to a resort in Ludhiana. Similarly, 10 AAP councillors have been relocated to a resort near Rupnagar while three councilors are in Chandigarh. AAP councilors are under the surveillance of Punjab Police. Senior leaders are also keeping an eye on the Congress councilors. The phones are being collected and kept in one place.

While the BJP claims that its development agenda is attracting cross-party support, AAP leader Dr SS Ahluwalia has accused the party of using money and power to sway loyalties.

Chandigarh BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra exudes confidence of a surprise victory, claiming that the party has a united base of 16 councillors and hopes to gain additional support from other factions.

Thus, the election is more than just a mayoral race. For the BJP, it’s a chance to regain political ground in Chandigarh and also restore some of the lost credibility ahead of the Delhi assembly elections. For the AAP-Congress alliance, their localised “marriage of convenience” will be tested as they try to retain their hold on the city.

Moreover, the power-sharing formula also helped the alliance reclaim the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat held by the BJP for two successive terms since 2014. Through a wafer-thin margin of 2,504 votes, Congress’ Manish Tewari had defeated BJP’s Sanjay Tandon, inflicting a severe upset on the saffron fold.

In addition to regaining political clout in Chandigarh through the mayoral seat, the BJP is also striving to repair its reputation after last year’s ballot-tampering controversy, involving its leader Anil Masih.

This time, the mayoral elections will be held under tight surveillance with closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) and videographers recording all aspects of the proceedings. According to notification, the presiding officer shall start the process of the election of mayor, including voting. After opening the ballot box, the presiding officer shall initial each ballot paper. This will be followed by counting of votes by the presiding officer, after which he will declare the result of the election. Secretary, MC, will request the newly-elected mayor to take over the seat. The ballot paper will then be sealed in the presence of the presiding officer and candidates. The mayoral election will be followed by elections for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, in which the same steps will be followed as in the mayoral elections. The mayor will preside over both these elections.

Notably, in 2024, the infamous mayoral polls were mired in controversy after the presiding officer, a nominated councillor and former member of BJP, was accused of tampering with the ballots and rejecting votes polled in favour of the AAP-Congress alliance. Anil had subsequently declared BJP’s Manoj Sonkar as the mayor on January 30 last year – much to the ire of the alliance which first moved to the Punjab and Haryana High Court and later the Supreme Court. The top court overturned the result and declared Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor of AAP as mayor.

DC reviews the preparations, gives officials necessary instructions

Moreover, to review the arrangements and ensure the smooth conduct of the Mayor election, the Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav on Wednesday presided over a meeting at the Municipal Corporation (MC) office. During the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner reviewed the preparations for the election, including security arrangements, logistics, and compliance with the prescribed guidelines. The DC held discussions with senior officials of the Municipal Corporation and Chandigarh Administration and Police officials, emphasizing the importance of a fair, transparent, and efficient election process.

Yadav apprised all concerned about their roles and responsibilities during the conduct of the elections of the Mayor, the Senior Deputy Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and exhorted all the officials to perform their duties strictly as per the Rule Book for successful conduct of these elections.

The Police will ensure proper barricading of the three roads approaching the office of Municipal Corporation, UT, Chandigarh. Sufficient police personnel will be deployed for maintaining law and order during the election. Adequate security arrangements shall be made to ensure that no unauthorised person shall enter the premises of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh building.

The requisite number of cameras inside the assembly hall shall be installed at the decided locations so as to capture the proceedings and important events from different angles and arrangements shall be made to keep the backup of the CCTV recording for a stipulated period of time.