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BJP keeps suspense alive over Chandigarh mayoral candidate
Chandigarh The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept the suspense alive over its nominee for the January 10 mayoral election even as Monday is the last day to
Chandigarh The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept the suspense alive over its nominee for the January 10 mayoral election even as Monday is the last day to file nomination.
The decision was expected on Saturday, after BJP’s Chandigarh in-charge and party national vice-president Prabhat Jha arrived from Delhi to hold a meeting with local leaders and councillors.
Jha, who reached the BJP office in Sector 33 at noon, held one-on-one meetings with party’s core committee members, including local president Sanjay Tandon, sitting MP Kirron Kher and former MP Satya Pal Jain. He also called each of the party’s 20 councillors separately and sought their feedback on the mayoral nominee.
However, later he left the city, telling the media that his role was just to take feedback from local leaders and apprise the central leadership about their choice. “There is no doubt the next mayor will be from the BJP. But the candidate is to be decided by our top leaders,” he said.
The party enjoys two-thirds majority among 26 elected councillors.
Preventing rift main challenge
Even as Jha said the party’s decision will be supreme, the major challenge, said sources, is to avoid any rift after the announcement of mayoral candidate.
The party faced embarrassment in the past two elections, when its own councillors entered the fray against the official nominee.
In 2018, the then outgoing mayor Asha Jaswal rebelled against BJP candidate Davesh Moudgil, although she later withdrew her nomination. In 2019, councillor Satish Kainth filed papers against the party’s official choice, Rajesh Kalia, and gave him a tough fight, losing by just three votes.
However, Tandon maintained there will be no rift this time. He said Jha had taken feedback from everyone. “Jha will discuss the matter with senior leaders on Sunday morning. There are chances the final decision will be conveyed to us by the evening. In any case, we have to file nomination papers on Monday,” he said.
Most councillors support Malik
The mayor’s post is reserved for women this time. Of the six BJP female councillors, three — Raj Bala Malik, Heera Negi and Sunita Dhawan — emerged front runners on expected lines.
Sources said Malik has the lead, as most councillors favoured her candidature during the Saturday meeting, followed by Sunita Dhawan and Heera Negi. However, Negi may give her a tough fight, as MP Kirron Kher named both of them, said sources. Negi has reportedly also used her political links to reach out to the party’s senior leadership in Delhi.
