AAP-Congress alliance receives blow as BJP wins Chandigarh Mayoral elections

New Delhi, Jan 30: In a setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the Chandigarh mayoral elections today, defeating AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar.

The electoral contest marked the first showdown between the Opposition coalition, comprising the Congress and AAP, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), following Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s switch to the latter.

Securing 16 votes, Manoj Sonkar outpaced Kuldeep Kumar, who gathered 12 votes, with eight votes declared invalid, triggering protests from AAP and Congress councillors. The BJP, with 14 councillors, managed to surpass AAP’s 13 councillors and the Congress’s seven.

As the results were announced, AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of “cheating” and expressed dissatisfaction with the electoral process.

Kejriwal posted on social media, stating, “If these people can stoop to this level in a mayoral poll, they can go to any extent in the national elections. This is very worrying.”

The AAP-Congress alliance has indicated plans to challenge the outcome in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann lamented the “looting” of democracy, and senior leader Raghav Chadha labelled the poll results “an act of treason.”

The strategic nominations by the AAP-Congress alliance included Kuldeep Kumar contesting for the mayoral post, while the Congress fielded candidates for the senior deputy mayor position.

Originally scheduled for January 18, the mayoral polls were postponed to February 6 due to the illness of the presiding officer, Anil Masih, and the prevailing law-and-order situation.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in its January 24 order, directed the Chandigarh administration to conduct the mayoral polls today, deeming the earlier postponement “unreasonable, unjustified, and arbitrary.”

All parties involved have maintained a cautious approach, keeping their councillors on the move before the polling day. The Chandigarh Press Club has appealed to the Centre to permit media coverage of the voting process, despite an initial denial of access to journalists.

The 35-member Municipal Corporation House, the AAP and Congress alliance hold a combined total of 20 votes, BJP’s 15 votes, including 14 councillors and the additional vote of MP Kirron Kher.