E-Paper
After high court rap, Chandigarh administration notifies mayoral elections on Jan 30
Interestingly, Anil Masih, whose apparent illness had led to the deferment of elections, originally meant to be held on January 18, has again been appointed the presiding authority for the mayoral election.
A day after the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) directed the UT administration to hold the Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30, instead of February 6, the deputy commissioner (DC) issued a fresh notification for the elections on Thursday.
Interestingly, Anil Masih, whose apparent illness had led to the deferment of elections, originally meant to be held on January 18, has again been appointed the presiding authority for the mayoral election.
When asked if the UT administration will challenge the high court order in the Supreme Court, DC Vinay Pratap Singh said, “We have legally examined the HC order. We have issued fresh notification for elections.”
As per the fresh notification, the elections will be held on January 30 at 10 am at the Assembly Hall of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC), Sector 17. Elections for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held simultaneously.
In the notification, the DC further said, “The councillors, who come for voting in the aforesaid elections, shall not be accompanied by any supporters or by the security personnel belonging to any other state. Chandigarh Police, shall ensure adequate security to councillors who come for voting, in view of the fact that they will not be accompanied by any security personnel belonging to any other state. The Chandigarh Police shall also ensure that neither any ruckus nor any untoward incident takes place in or around the premises of the Chandigarh municipal corporation office, prior to, during or after the election process.”
“The authorities concerned in the Chandigarh administration are to ensure strict compliance of the orders of Hon’ble High Court,” he concluded.
While issuing orders on a petition by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Kuldeep Kumar against the administration’s decision to postpone the elections from January 18 to February 6, the court had said on Wednesday that the authorities shall conduct the elections on January 30 at 10 am, and the deputy commissioner is to ensure that the elections are held under the presiding officer nominated by him.
The court had issued orders while observing, “Since the grounds on which the elections have been deferred are unjustified and unreasonable and the very fact that it has been deferred for 18 long days, adds irrationality to it. As noticed above, we have given the respondents a patient hearing and sufficient opportunity to rectify the said wrong, but to no avail. We, thus, hold that the impugned order is totally unreasonable, unjustified and arbitrary.”
The story so far
On January 10, the DC, being the presiding authority, had first notified the elections for January 18. However, on January 15, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had entered into an alliance as part of the INDIA Bloc, to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the mayoral elections.
The deferment due to the presiding officer and BJP leader Anil Masih’s poor health was announced at 10.30am, just as AAP and Congress councillors were assembling to vote at the municipal corporation office in Sector 17 on January 18.
The Congress and the AAP had accused the BJP of not allowing the elections, fearing “imminent defeat”. The BJP dismissed the allegation. Following a protest and the Opposition’s plea in the high court, Chandigarh deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh had issued fresh orders and announced the next date of elections as February 6.
In the 35-member MC House, the AAP and the Congress together have 20 votes, while the BJP, which has been ruling the MC for eight years, has 15 votes — 14 of councillors and one of MP Kirron Kher. The magic number is 19.
Meanwhile, as the battle for power in Chandigarh draws longer, cautious parties are keeping their councillors on the move. AAP has relocated its councillors to undisclosed locations and taken away the councillors’ phones. Congress councillors are moving across Punjab as they first paid obeisance at Golden Temple, Amritsar, and then at Nakodar Dargah on Thursday. BJP’s councillors are resting easy at home.
