Nearly two months after internal rifts within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress resulted in three cross-votings from the AAP-Congress alliance to help Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Harpreet Kaur Babla win the mayoral seat, the city unit of Congress on Tuesday constituted a fact-finding committee to identify the councillors involved in the cross-voting.
Party insiders revealed that AAP has also decided to form a similar committee, with an official announcement expected soon.
Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) president HS Lucky announced the formation of the fact-finding committee, which will investigate and identify those responsible for the cross-voting. The committee has been tasked with speaking to all concerned individuals and submitting a report based on its findings.
The members of the committee include vice-presidents of city’s Congress unit—Jatinder Bhatia and Pawan Sharma—and senior Congress leader NK Nanda.
Additionally, Achhe Lal Gaur, general secretary (organization) of CPCC, will coordinate and facilitate the committee meetings.
Lucky said, “Though internal investigations were conducted, both parties have now officially formed committees to conduct a thorough probe and identify the black sheep. The decision to form the committee came with the need to hold the defectors accountable and prevent further instability in the alliance ahead of future elections. The party high command will take strict action against those found guilty.”
Despite a numerical advantage, the AAP-Congress alliance was plagued by differences and seething internal rifts within both parties, undermining their leaders’ efforts and paving the way for the BJP to exploit the cracks within. The INDIA bloc, boasting 20 votes—13 from AAP, six from Congress and MP Manish Tewari’s ex-officio vote—was expected to deliver a comfortable victory during the January 30 mayoral polls. However, three crucial cross-votes from within the alliance allowed Harpreet to secure 19 votes, edging out Prem Lata, who managed 17. With the total 36 votes, 19 were needed to win.
{{/usCountry}}Despite a numerical advantage, the AAP-Congress alliance was plagued by differences and seething internal rifts within both parties, undermining their leaders’ efforts and paving the way for the BJP to exploit the cracks within. The INDIA bloc, boasting 20 votes—13 from AAP, six from Congress and MP Manish Tewari’s ex-officio vote—was expected to deliver a comfortable victory during the January 30 mayoral polls. However, three crucial cross-votes from within the alliance allowed Harpreet to secure 19 votes, edging out Prem Lata, who managed 17. With the total 36 votes, 19 were needed to win.
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