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Chandigarh mayoral poll: Alliance talks with AAP in final stage, announcement soon, says Bansal
As per the alliance agreement, the mayor will be from AAP, while the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will go to the Congress, as per senior party leader Pawan Bansal
Underway since Friday, the alliance talks between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the January 18 Chandigarh mayoral polls are in the final stage and a formal announcement will be made soon, according to former Union minister and senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal.
“The ongoing discussions under the INDIA Alliance in Delhi over the past two to three days have almost led to a consensus between Congress and AAP. Due to this agreement, the BJP is likely to face defeat both in the mayoral elections and in the Lok Sabha elections. The formal announcement will be out soon,” he said on Sunday.
As per the alliance agreement, the mayor will be from AAP, while the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will go to the Congress, said Bansal, adding that AAP will also be supporting the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Chandigarh.
If they do clinch the mayoral elections, the Congress-AAP alliance will have less than three months to spearhead significant development initiatives in Chandigarh to strengthen their position for the Parliamentary seat.
How are the numbers stacked
In the December 2021 MC elections, the AAP had clinched 14 seats, highest in the 35-member MC House. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 12, the Congress eight and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could manage only one seat.
But in May 2022, AAP councillor Taruna Mehta joined the Congress, reducing AAP’s numbers to 13.
More recently, on January 10, another AAP councillor, Lakhbir Singh Billu, joined the BJP, further denting its strength in the House.
However, in a surprise move, on January 13, as the BJP was heading to file nominations for the mayoral poll, its councillor Gurcharanjit Singh Kala switched to AAP, dealing the saffron fold a big blow.
Despite the turn of events, at 14, the BJP still has the most number of councillors in the 35-member MC House, while AAP comes a close second in strength with 13.
The Congress has seven councillors, whereas one councillor is from SAD. With another vote of local MP and ex-officio member Kirron Kher, the BJP still has an edge in the elections, where the mayoral candidates need 19 votes to win.
As such, only joining hands with AAP will help the Congress achieve the magic number. With 13 councillors, AAP on its own will also need six more votes to secure the mayor’s chair.
Meanwhile, the lone SAD councillor, Hardeep Singh, said, “I will be holding a meeting with the party high command on Thursday. I will vote as per the directions I get.”
In the 2022 and 2023 mayoral elections, the Congress had abstained from voting, paving the way for BJP’s win.
Bansal, who is eyeing the Lok Sabha ticket from Chandigarh, said in the last 10 years, the BJP had not undertaken any development work in the city according to its 60-point manifesto. “They will now bear the consequences. The city residents are well aware. Based on the development work done during the Congress regime, they will decide whom to choose,” he said.
