Amritsar mayoral elections on January 27

The announcement came after Jalandhar division commissioner Arun Sekhri sent a letter to the Amritsar municipal commissioner, directing him to administer the oath of office to newly elected councillors and hold elections for the top three posts.

Elections for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor in the Amritsar municipal corporation will be held on January 27, as per a notification issued on Friday.

The Congress is the single-largest party in the House, having won 40 out of 85 seats but it is still six votes short of the majority mark of 46. (HT File)

The announcement came after Jalandhar division commissioner Arun Sekhri sent a letter to the Amritsar municipal commissioner, directing him to administer the oath of office to newly elected councillors and hold elections for the top three posts.

MC commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh said the meeting of the councillors will begin at the auditorium of Government Medical College at 4 pm.

Tug of war between Congress, AAP

The Congress is the single-largest party in the House, having won 40 out of 85 seats but it is still six votes short of the majority mark of 46. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is the second largest party with 24 councillors, has an added advantage as its five MLAs from urban segments — Amritsar Central, Amritsar North, Amritsar South, Amritsar East and Amritsar West — hold voting rights as ex officio members. With six out of eight Independents extending support to it in the House and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor joining the party, the AAP’s tally in the House has risen to 36. Though still far behind the majority mark, the AAP will spoil the game for the Congress, which is trying to woo the Independents. So far, only one Independent has publicly extended support to the Congress.