Even a last-minute declaration of its mayoral candidate couldn’t help Bharatiya Janata Party from preventing an open rebellion in its ranks in Chandigarh on Monday.
Only minutes after BJP nominee Ravi Kant Sharma filed his nomination, fellow party councillor Chanderwati Shukla too filed her papers as a rebel candidate for the mayor’s post. Soon afterwards, another councillor, Bharat Kumar, resigned from BJP in protest against Sharma’s selection.
BJP enjoys majority in the House and would have sailed through if not for the rebellion. With Congress later in the day deciding to support the rebel candidate, BJP is now in a tight spot.
Earlier, after much delay and suspense, BJP state president Arun Sood around 4.30pm declared outgoing senior deputy mayor Sharma as its candidate for the mayor’s post. Maheshinder Singh Sidhu was named for the senior deputy mayor’s and Farmila for the deputy mayor’s post.
Miffed over this, accompanied by Congress leaders Devinder Singh Babla and Satish Kainth, Shukla filed her nomination even as her party leaders, including former mayor Asha Jaswal, tried to convince her against it.
Babla proposed her name, and Kainth, who too had rebelled against BJP nominee in 2019 before moving to Congress, seconded it. There were also heated arguments between some BJP leaders and Shukla’s husband Gopal Shukla.
“The party is rewarding those people with posts who repeatedly betrayed it. At the same time, it is ignoring people of Purvanchal, who have supported it wholeheartedly. It has to stop now,” said Gopal Shukla. He said the couple has no plans to leave the party as yet and will focus on winning the mayor elections.
{{/usCountry}}“The party is rewarding those people with posts who repeatedly betrayed it. At the same time, it is ignoring people of Purvanchal, who have supported it wholeheartedly. It has to stop now,” said Gopal Shukla. He said the couple has no plans to leave the party as yet and will focus on winning the mayor elections.
{{/usCountry}}Party finds itself in a tight spot
Even though BJP has 20 councillors in the House of 26, with a rebel candidate in the fray and one councillor tendering resignation, it finds itself in a precarious situation. There is a possibility that the winning candidate might need only 12 or 13 votes to get elected rather than 14.
“BJP councillor Hira Negi and city MP Kirron Kher are unwell, and are unlikely to vote. Shiromani Akali Dal, a former ally, is likely to boycott the elections. If Bharat Kumar also absents on election day, there is possibility that only 12 votes will be required to win the elections,” said a BJP councillor, requesting anonymity. “Resentment is brewing in the party over Sharma’s candidature, and there are concerns that if it is not pacified immediately, this might even reverse the party’s dominant position in the House.”
In 2019, rebel candidate Satish Kainth , supported by four Congress councillors and with the help of cross-voting by BJP councillors, had managed to get 11 votes. “Congress will support Chanderwati Shukla in mayoral elections. Congress candidate Devinder Singh Babla may withdraw nomination,” said Chandigarh Congress president Pardeep Chhabra.
No cause for concern: City BJP chief
Downplaying the rebellion, Sood said, “It is only a spontaneous expression of disappointment by councillors. Shuklas and Bharat are very responsible and dedicated party workers. We are confident that they will respect the party’s decisions, as we are already in talks with them.”
Sood also contended that nomination papers of both Congress and Shukla are liable to be rejected after scrutiny. “When Babla and Kainth themselves are fighting the elections, they cannot propose or second another person’s candidature,” he said. While Babla filed papers for mayor’s post, Kainth is Congress nominee for the post of senior deputy mayor and Rajinder Kaur for deputy mayor.
On the selection of party nominees, Sood said: “The decision was taken after consulting all BJP councillors, senior leaders and more than 80 party functionaries in the city. We have 20 councillors, and in five years, all of them cannot become mayor.”