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AAP hints at tie-up with Congress for Chandigarh mayoral polls
Stating that the opposition had come together this time to beat the BJP, AAP councillor Prem Lata said she was confident of an AAP councillor becoming the mayor this time
Indicating a possible tie-up with the Congress for the January 17 mayoral elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Prem Lata on Friday said the entire opposition was united and will defeat the BJP candidate.
Stating that the opposition had come together this time to beat the BJP, Lata in a statement said she was confident of an AAP councillor becoming the mayor this time.
In the 35-member Chandigarh MC House, both the AAP and the BJP have 14 members each, while six are from the Congress and one is from the Shiromani Akali Dal. To be elected as the mayor, a candidate must muster at least 19 votes.
Lata said the Chandigarh BJP may adopt any gimmick, but the opposition will unitedly teach it a lesson for insulting the mandate last year.
Notably, in the MC elections held in December 2021, the AAP, contesting its first MC poll in the city, had come out on the top by clinching 14 seats. BJP had emerged as the second-largest party in the House with 12 councillors, while the Congress won eight seats and SAD one.
However, following the elections, in January, Congress councillor Harpreet Kaur Babla, along with her husband, Devinder Singh Babla, a former Congress councillor, switched to the BJP, increasing its strength in the House to 13.
Then in June, another Congress councillor, Gurcharan Jeet Singh Kala, also moved to the BJP, bumping up the party’s share in the House to 14, equal to the number of AAP councillors.
Meanwhile, a Congress leader, requesting anonymity, also said, “We will make sure the BJP is defeated. Over the last year, development works in the city have suffered a lot. As for joining hands with the AAP, the high command will take a decision in the next few days.”
Elections for the posts of Chandigarh mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor are held every year during the five-year term of the MC House. In the first term in 2022, the BJP had clinched all three posts.
The first and fourth terms are reserved for a woman candidate from the general category, and the third for a candidate from the Scheduled Caste category. The second and fifth terms are open to any candidate from the general category.
