Chandigarh mayoral elections on January 30

In the fresh orders, the Chandigarh DC said the January 7 notification for mayoral elections may be treated as withdrawn, meaning that the nominations held for the elections on Monday also stands cancelled.

A day after the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) directed the Chandigarh administration to reschedule the mayoral elections to a date after January 29, deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Yadav on Tuesday issued a fresh notification, fixing January 30 for the polls to three posts – mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

In Chandigarh, the elections for the three posts are held every year. Being the fourth year, the new mayor will be a woman, as per the city’s five-year mayoral rotation system. (HT File)

In the fresh orders, the DC clarified that the January 7 notification for mayoral elections may be treated as withdrawn, meaning that the nominations held for the elections on Monday also stands cancelled.

The plea seeking quashing of the January 7 notification was filed by AAP mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor on January 17, and on Monday, the HC had quashed the notification and directed that the elections will be held after January 29. The elections have been deferred on grounds that the tenure of the present mayor Kuldeep Kumar is up to January 29. However, a detailed order is awaited.

The DC commissioner said nominations for all three posts must be filed by 5 pm on January 25, whereas nominated councillor Ramneek Singh Bedi will preside over the election as the convening authority. The presiding officer remains unchanged.

The election will be held at 11 am in the Assembly Hall of the Chandigarh municipal corporation office, Sector 17, with the results to be announced soon after.

In Chandigarh, the elections for the three posts are held every year. Being the fourth year, the new mayor will be a woman, as per the city’s five-year mayoral rotation system.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress had declared their candidates on Monday. BJP named Harpreet Kaur Babla as their mayoral candidate, Bimala Dubey for the post of senior deputy mayor, and Lakhbir Singh Billu for deputy mayor.

The Congress, adhering to its alliance pact with AAP, nominated Jasbir Singh Bunty for the senior deputy mayor’s post and Taruna Mehta for deputy mayor. As per the alliance agreement, Congress will contest for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor while AAP will field a candidate for the mayoral post. The AAP has still not declared its mayoral candidate with leaders stating that the announcement will come on the day of the nomination.

All six women councillors from AAP are eyeing the mayoral post, but three contenders, including Prem Lata, Anju Katyal and Jaswinder Kaur, are the front runners for the prestigious post.

The AAP-Congress combine is likely to maintain its hold on the key positions, as it has 21 votes — 13 from AAP, seven from Congress and one ex-officio vote of MP Manish Tewari --in the 35-member MC. The BJP, on the other hand, has just 15 votes, and is hoping for cross-voting or defections to tip the balance in its favour. A party needs 19 votes to win the poll.