Bhubaneswar: In a closely contested mayoral election in Chandigarh, Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victory, defeating AAP’s Kuldeep Tita. The BJP clinched 16 out of 35 seats in the municipal corporation, showcasing its resilience against the united Opposition alliance comprising the Congress and AAP. This election marked the first major electoral showdown between the newly formed Opposition coalition and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), post Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s switch to the latter.
The AAP-Congress alliance strategically nominated candidates for key positions, with Mr. Kumar representing AAP in the mayoral contest. In addition to the mayoral post, the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor positions witnessed a face-off between candidates from BJP and Congress. Kuljeet Sandhu of the BJP contested against Congress’s Gurpreet Singh Gabi for the senior deputy mayor, while the deputy mayor position was contested between BJP’s Rajinder Sharma and Congress’s Nirmala Devi.
Manoj Sonkar, representing the BJP, emerged as the Mayor of Chandigarh with 16 votes against the 12 votes secured by the Congress-AAP candidate Kuldeep Tita. However, eight votes were declared invalid, prompting protests against the presiding authority Anil Masih. The situation necessitated the intervention of marshals to maintain order. The newly elected mayor will oversee subsequent elections for the Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions.
The polls hold significant political implications as they mark the inaugural electoral test for the Opposition’s INDIA alliance against the BJP. This election also witnessed the first-ever alliance between the AAP and Congress, indicating a united front against the ruling party.
The election process faced some delays, with the deputy commissioner and certain BJP councillors arriving late, leading to an hour’s delay in the start of voting. Despite being denied access to the press gallery, reporters were able to observe the polling process on a screen in a conference room.
Originally scheduled for January 18, the mayoral election was postponed to February 6 due to the presiding officer’s illness. Following the Opposition councillors’ plea to the Punjab and Haryana High Court over the delay, the court directed that the polls be held on January 30.
Approximately 700 police personnel and additional paramilitary forces were deployed at the Municipal Corporation Building in Chandigarh, where the mayoral election took place. In a notable development, some Municipal councillors from the Congress and AAP declined additional security offered by the Chandigarh police.
