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Chandigarh mayoral poll deferred till Feb 6 as presiding officer ‘falls ill’
AAP, Congress protest deferral; allege misuse of government apparatus by BJP to postpone the poll, as it was not ready to face defeat
The high-stakes Chandigarh mayoral election was deferred till February 6 in a controversial decision on Thursday after the presiding officer, Anil Masih, took ill, triggering protests by AAP and Congress councillors who accused the BJP of orchestrating the turn of events.
The Congress and the AAP, who had decided to contest the Chandigarh mayoral election jointly just three days before the high-octane contest, alleged that Masih, a staunch BJP member, reported ill on the party’s instructions as its defeat was imminent.
After the protest and opposition’s petition before the Punjab and Haryana high court, deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh later in the evening announced February 6 as the next date of mayoral poll.
Interestingly, the DC again nominated Masih as the presiding officer for the election, being seen as the first test of the BJP vs INDIA bloc that led to the AAP-Congress tie-up in Chandigarh ahead of the general election this summer.
If the AAP and Congress ensure party-line voting, their 20 votes together are sufficient to rout the BJP that has held the mayor’s chair for eight years straight. To be elected, a mayoral candidate must gather at least 19 votes.
Including one ex-officio vote of MP Kirron Kher, the BJP has 15 votes. The sole SAD councillor had already announced that his vote would go to none of the above (NOTA).
For the mayor’s post, the fight is between AAP’s Kuldeep Dhalor and BJP’s Manoj Sonkar.
Congress councillors Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi are contesting for the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor posts, respectively, while the BJP has fielded Kuljeet Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma for the two posts, respectively.
BJP councillors missing in action
The announcement of deferring the elections was made at 10.30 am just as councillors from the opposition AAP and Congress assembled to participate in the election that was to begin at 11 am at the municipal corporation (MC) office in Sector 17, Chandigarh.
BJP councillors were conspicuous by their absence. Outgoing mayor Anup Gupta of the BJP arrived at 11.45 am and said he had also got to know of the deferment at 10.30 am.
Though the official message by MC landed in the councillors’ WhatsApp group around 10.30 am, the message of his ill health had started making rounds of unofficial groups around 10 am.
The official intimation by Isha Kamboj, joint commissioner, MC, stated, “It is informed that a telephonic message has been received regarding ill-health of Sh Anil Masih who has been nominated as presiding authority for the meeting scheduled on 18.1.24 for the post of mayor u/60 (a) read with Regulation 6(1) of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation(Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulation, 1996. It is requested not to reach the MC office till further orders.”
According to MC rules, one of the nominated councillors is appointed as presiding officer for the mayor’s election, following which polling for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor are conducted.
When he was nominated as a councillor in October 2022, Masih was the general secretary of BJP’s Minority Morcha.
‘End of democracy’: Opposition cries foul
Soon after the message circulated and councillors were restricted from entering the MC building, the Congress-AAP councillors and party workers started the protest, alleging yet another political manoeuvre by the saffron fold to delay the election as they were not ready to face defeat.
“No BJP councillor or MP Kirron Kher reached the MC office, which meant they already knew the elections won’t take place today,” said the protesting AAP councillors, accusing the BJP of misusing government apparatus.
The protest outside the MC building, however, lasted for only 20 minutes as the councillors feared police arrest. The AAP-Congress councillors, with party presidents, then rushed to the Punjab CM house to discuss further plans and policies.
“This was BJP’s deliberate attempt. We already knew that they will stoop to any level. We got to know that police were even instructed to arrest Congress and AAP councillors during the protest so that they can hold the polls later in the day,” alleged Congress councillor Sachin Galav.
Former Chandigarh MP and Congress leader Pawan Bansal said, “The BJP was not ready to face defeat so they intentionally postponed the elections. Had the BJP believed in democracy, it would have requested the deputy commissioner (DC) to change the presiding officer. This is the end of democracy.”
Rubbishing the opposition’s charges, Jatinder Pal Malhotra, Chandigarh BJP chief, said, “We were confident of winning the elections today as some councillors from AAP and Congress were ready to cast their votes in our favour.”
BJP gripped by ‘democracy-phobia’: Raghav Chadha
AAP MP Raghav Chadha, who reached MC office after the high drama, said, “BJP is gripped by ‘democracy-phobia’ — a fear of democracy and free and fair elections.”
“BJP is scared of INDIA’s triumph. With 20 out of the total 36 votes in its favour, INDIA alliance is poised to win the Chandigarh mayoral elections. BJP is all set to lose badly. This has given the BJP sleepless nights and forced its dirty tricks department to work overtime. Result? First, the secretary of elections falls sick, and now, the presiding officer has also fallen sick. All this to adjourn the election,” he said in a post on X.
“This is a deliberate attempt to postpone elections, and undeniably serves as an evidence that the BJP is, without a doubt, afraid of INDIA alliance. BJP is like a disgruntled child who, upon being called out in gully cricket, takes away the bat and declares an end to the game. Is our democracy so weak that elections will only happen when the BJP is winning, and elections will be adjourned if the BJP is losing?” Chadha added.
Several Congress workers join BJP
Amid the controversy surrounding the mayoral poll, several Congress and AAP workers on Thursday evening joined the BJP in the presence of city president Jatinder Pal Malhotra. “Over 100 Congress and AAP workers joined us today, as they were fed up with the way the two parties have joined hands. These workers said it was because of Pawan Bansal that Congress became so weak in Chandigarh,” Malhotra claimed.
Masih a staunch BJP member
The man who found himself in the centre of the row, Anil Masih, is a hardcore BJP member who joined the saffron fold in 2015. The mayoral poll was deferred till February 6 on Thursday after Masih, the presiding officer, cited ill health.
Besides being a nominated councillor, Masih is the general secretary of the BJP’s Minority Morcha. He actively participates in all BJP activities and programmes.
An employee of a private company, Masih was appointed as a nominated councillor on October 18, 2022, even as Section 4 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, extended to Chandigarh, states that nominated councillors should be experienced in civic body governance or be eminent personalities in their field of expertise.
Despite repeated attempts, Masih could not be contacted for a comment.
A member of the Church of North India (CNI) in Sector 18, he was debarred from church activities in 2018 for making scurrilous statements against some church members. Later, the CNI Bishop, Denzel Peoples, reinstated him.
One of his close associates, who wished not to be named, said, “I spoke to him on Wednesday, and he was sounding hale and hearty. On Thursday, we got to know that he is not well and even admitted to a hospital in Mohali.”
Got no time to appoint new presiding officer: DC
As the flurry of allegations cast a hard spotlight on the role of Chandigarh administration in deferring the mayoral poll, the deputy commissioner justified the decision, stating he had no time to change the presiding officer before the scheduled time for mayoral poll at 11 am, as he got information at the last moment.
He also said the new date of February 6 had been fixed after reports from the municipal corporation and police.
The DC, with powers of divisional commissioner, is the prescribed authority on conduct of mayoral polls in Chandigarh.
“After I received an intimation from the MC joint commissioner around 10 am that Anil Masih, the presiding officer, is unwell, I instructed to get his medical examination done. He was admitted at GMSH-16 and his medical report showed that he had some ortho-related issues. The doctors suggested MRI and some other medical tests and recommended proper treatment. The procedure takes time,” said DC Vinay Pratap Singh.
“Also, the law and order situation was problematic in the past two days. Subsequently, a report was sought from the SSP. The decision to postpone the election meeting was taken after assessment of Masih’s medical report and the SSP’s report on law and order situation,” Singh told HT.
“The meeting aims to ensure a smooth and lawful election process, promoting transparency and civic engagement in the democratic proceedings of Chandigarh MC,” he further said.
Former nominated councillor and retired IAS officer Babu Lal, who was the presiding officer in five mayoral elections, said the presiding officer should conduct free and fair elections and should be impartial in a democratic set-up. “In case, the presiding officer was not well, they could have appointed another presiding officer,” he said.
Earlier in high court, Congress and AAP alleged that officers acted at the behest of the BJP.
The message of ill-health of the presiding officer was circulating in councillors’ unofficial WhatsApp groups since 10 am. While official message came at 10.30 am. BJP councillors had not even come to MC office as they knew election was not going to take place, they alleged, adding that the DC could have appointed any other councillor as presiding officer and polls could have been conducted anytime till 5 pm.
Law dictates no timeframe for mayoral poll
As per the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act 1976, the election of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor has to take place in the first MC House meeting of the year. However, the Act does not specify a timeline within which the poll for the three posts should be held, according to legal experts.
“It is a grey area. The first House meeting can be deferred on one pretext or the other. But since the matter is in high court also, it can’t be deferred indefinitely,” a senior advocate associated with the case said.
Outgoing mayor to continue till fresh polls
In line with the 1976 Act, the incumbent mayor, Anup Gupta, will continue till his successor is elected. Though the MC Act does not specify the mayor’s working in such a situation, officials say he will continue to hold the same powers, underlining that in any case, as per the Act, the financial powers of MC lie only with the House or municipal commissioner.
No House meeting, budget meeting till fresh polls
Officials said budget deliberations were likely to be delayed due to the impasse. Any meeting to be held now will be done to elect the mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. Budget can only be brought in a House where a new mayor has been elected. Generally, the budget is passed by the MC House in February. However, in the given circumstances, it is going to get delayed.
HC notice on plea challenging UT move to defer mayoral polls
The Punjab and Haryana high court in the evening sought response from the Chandigarh administration and MC on a plea from the AAP mayoral candidate, challenging deferral of mayoral polls.
The request for listing of the plea from Kuldeep Dhalor was made at 2 pm before the bench of justice GS Sandhwalia by senior advocate and Punjab advocate general Gurminder Singh, and advocate Gaurav Garg Dhuriwala.
It was subsequently taken up for hearing by the bench of justice Sudhir Singh and justice Harsh Bunger, which sought response by January 23.
The plea sought a “free and fair” election and the appointment of a new presiding officer in place of Anil Masih, who reported sick in the morning, leading to the much-awaited election getting deferred. The plea also sought the appointment of a court commissioner to supervise the election.
“The majority of officers responsible for conducting the election, including the presiding officer and the MC secretary, belong to the Haryana cadre, where the BJP is in power and they are under the party’s influence,” the plea claimed, alleging that respondents were trying to hijack the proceedings of election with “ill intent”.
On the other hand, UT’s senior standing counsel Anil Mehta and senior advocate Chetan Mittal, who appeared for MC, informed the court that it was deferred as presiding officer reported ill. They also cited a report from police on apprehension of law and order situation in the city. “Chandigarh councillors were accompanied by 50 odd commandoes of Punjab Police. What were they doing in the city with these councillors,” Mehta questioned, justifying how such instances could have created a law and order situation.
He also informed that a new date has been fixed by the officer concerned taking into account various circumstances and at this stage court could not interfere with the election process, which had been scheduled for February 6.
The court while deferring hearing for February 23, observed that law and order could not be made a ground to defer the polls. It also questioned UT as to how when the high court was seized of the matter, a new date was notified by the administration. UT and MC have been told to respond by Tuesday on allegations levelled by the mayoral candidate.
