Chandigarh mayoral polls: Fearing poaching, BJP moves its councillors to Shimla

Chandigarh mayoral polls will be held on Jan 8; earlier, Congress had sent all its seven councillors to Jaipur, while AAP councillors were shifted to Delhi

Fearing poaching ahead of the Chandigarh mayoral elections scheduled on January 8, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday shifted all its elected councillors to Shimla.

BJP councillors are staying at the Circuit House near Hotel Peterhoff in posh Willy’s Park area of Shimla.

Earlier, on January 3, the Congress had sent all its seven councillors to Jaipur, while AAP councillors were shifted to Delhi. Though AAP councillors have now returned to Chandigarh, Congress ones are still in Jaipur.

The BJP councillors are staying at the Circuit House run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department Corporation near Hotel Peterhoff in posh Willy’s Park area of Shimla.The rooms for councillors were booked in the names of different BJP ministers and legislators, it is learnt.

According to sources, the Himachal Pradesh Police have deployed tight security around the Circuit House and are keeping a strict vigil over the guests. Most councillors stayed indoors throughout the day amid rain, while a few went out to take a stroll on the empty roads. “Our entire family is here; I cannot divulge the names of those staying here, “ said a BJP councillor, on the condition of anonymity.

Chandigarh BJP chief Arun Sood alleged that the AAP was spreading rumours of three BJP councillors coming forward to support the AAP. “It is to show that the party’s flock is together. We want to tell them (AAP) that our councillors cannot be bought,” he said.

In the municipal corporation elections result declared on December 24, the AAP had bagged 14 seats, while the BJP got 12, the Congress eight and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) a lone seat in the 35-member House. With Congress vice-president Devinder Singh Babla along with his councillor wife Harpreet Kaur Babla switching sides to the BJP, the number of saffron party votes has gone up to 14, which includes the vote of Member Parliament and ex-officio member Kirron Kher. With this, both the AAP and BJP have an equal number of votes.

On Tuesday, both BJP and AAP had filed nominations for mayoral polls, while the Congress abstained. Anju Katyal is in the fray from the AAP, and the BJP has fielded Sarabjit Kaur Dhillon. To get elected, they would need 19 votes of the total 36. In case the Congress abstains from voting, then 15 votes will be needed, making the lone SAD councillor’s vote the game-changer.

However, if the SAD councillor also abstains from voting, then there will be a tie and the mayor will be picked through a draw of lots. SAD councillor Hardeep Singh said: “I am holding a meeting with the party high command on Thursday, and I will vote according to their directions.”

Congress spokesperson Rajesh Sharma said that the final decision on voting will be taken by the party along with the councillors on January 7. “All councillors will be returning from Jaipur on that day,” he said. Meanwhile, AAP’s Chandigarh unit president Prem Garg said that if the Congress abstains from voting, it will be an “illegal and immoral” act that is not good for democracy. The AAP has earlier suggested to the Congress to elect mayors from the two parties alternately.