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Chandigarh MC House clears open voting for mayoral polls
The first term is reserved for a woman candidate from general category, the second is for any candidate from general category, third for a candidate from SC category, fourth for a woman candidate from general category and fifth for general category
After the controversial mayoral elections in January this year, the mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its INDIA bloc alliance partner Congress passed a resolution in the municipal corporation House meeting on Tuesday that “show of hands” be used while voting in future elections instead of the present provision of secret ballot.
While the Congress and AAP councillors termed the passing of the resolution as a step in the right direction to cleanse the electoral system in the city, the BJP councillors opposed it, claiming, “AAP councillors are trying to snatch the fundamental right of people.”
In response, the AAP councillors targeted the BJP, alleging that the saffron fold was already planning “inappropriate ways” to win the January 2025 mayoral elections.
The agenda tabled in the House said, “In the last years, there have been controversies regarding the election of office-bearers of municipal corporation due to the regulation of electing them by way of secret ballot. To facilitate a transparent and equitable election process for the coming years, it is proposed that the existing Regulations of 1996 be amended and it is recommended that the election for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor be conducted by means of show of hands. So, it is requested to amend Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996, and the elections be conducted by show of hands.”
The resolution will be sent to the UT administration for final approval and amendment in the Act.
“As per the MC Act, MC House can amend these rules and open hand voting will ensure that horse trading is not done ahead of the annual polls. After what happened this year, the resolution was important for free and fair elections,” said AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra.
Expressing dissent with the resolution, BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said, “We had earlier passed a resolution that an anti-defection law should be implemented in Chandigarh MC. The resolution is still pending with the Union ministry. Instead of an open hand provision, we should ask officers concerned to review that pending decision as it will automatically make the election procedure free and fair.”
In Chandigarh, the elections for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor are held every year in December end or first week of January.
The first term is reserved for a woman candidate from general category, the second is for any candidate from general category, third for a candidate from SC category, fourth for a woman candidate from general category and fifth for general category. Seats for the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor are not reserved.
An election rife with controversies
Ever since the mayoral polls were notified on January 10, they ran into multiple controversies. First, the polls were rescheduled from January 18 to February 6 by UT. After the Punjab and Haryana high court intervened, the UT decided to conduct the elections on January 30. But what happened on January 30 hit the national headlines as the AAP-Congress combine accused presiding officer Anil Masih of vote tampering.
After counting of votes, Masih, a BJP leader, had declared Sonkar, the saffron party’s candidate, the winner, even as the Congress-AAP alliance had 20 votes in the House while the BJP had 16. Masih had allegedly declared eight votes polled to Dhalor as invalid, resulting in a huge controversy as he was caught on live cameras defacing the eight votes.
On February 20, the apex court declared AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor the winner of the mayor seat, after noting that Masih defacing the eight ballot papers in question was “obvious”. Also, the apex court directed fresh elections for the other two posts. Masih now faces perjury proceedings in the Supreme Court.
