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Chandigarh MC polls: Crusaders of the war room
As campaigning for the Chandigarh municipal corporation elections enters the final leg, HT takes a look at the core teams of the three main parties—Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Congress hopes for a comeback
After three successive elections losses since 2014, the Chandigarh Congress is hoping to make a comeback in a city, once considered to be its stronghold. Seven years ago, having majority in the MC house, the Congress lost the mayoral election to the BJP. Later in the 2016 MC polls, it suffered a major drubbing, securing only four seats while the BJP alliance won 21 seats.
The grand old party is banking on the anti-incumbency factor and city’s slipping Swachh Survekshan rankings for a return to power. Inflation, “high” tax burden on city residents, “poor” development record of BJP, and the MC’s financial crunch are other major issues the Congress is counting on this election. The entry of the AAP, in a traditionally two-pronged battle, has particularly disturbed the party’s election strategy. In many wards, both the parties are vying for the same anti-BJP votes. Unlike BJP and AAP, which are spending heavily on advertisements, the party is focusing more on individual contacts with voters and social media.
POWER CENTRE
Pawan Kumar Bansal, national party treasurer
Four-time member of parliament from Chandigarh and the party’s power centre in the city, Bansal is dictating the party’s overall election strategy –the key election issues, party’s response to rival parties’ tactics, and overall management of party affairs during the election. The former union railway minister also played a key role in the selection of candidates. Being the party’s most recognisable face, Bansal is also actively participating in door-to-door campaignS and public rallies.
THE TROUBLESHOOTER
Rajinder Rana, coordinator, MC elections
The MLA from Himachal Pradesh, Rajinder Rana is mobilising the party workers, bringing in additional campaign hands from Himachal Pradesh and Delhi to prop the party’s campaign. Rana, appointed as the coordinator for Chandigarh election by the Congress high command, is the party’s crisis manager-in-chief, dousing rebellions within the party and also pulling in crucial leaders from rival parties. Rana is actively working on bringing in the crucial Himachali voters to the party’s side. Rana is also holding public meetings in wards in support of the party candidates.
STRATEGIST
Subhash Chawla, Congress state president
A seasoned city politician and former mayor, Subhash Chawla, who took over as the party’s city president only nine months ago, is at the centre of the party’s strategy making. He is coordinating and managing all different cells of the party. Chawla is also responsible for ensuring that candidates’ field requirements are met. He decides the party’s star campaigners’ meeting schedule and places they are to be best utilised.
PUBLICIST
Abhishek Dutt, coordinator
National spokesperson Abhishek Dutt is looking after the media and communication strategy of the party in the municipal corporation elections. The councillor from South Delhi municipal corporation, Dutt is managing the crucial social media campaign and the advertisement messaging of the party.
AAP’s debut on MC battleground
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had made its election debut in the city in the 2014 Lok Sabha election when its candidate Gul Panag secured nearly 23.97% of the total votes polled, and was in close contest with the runner up, veteran Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal who had polled 26.84% votes. But thereafter, the party lost major ground in the city’s with its cadres fragmenting and residents’ interest fading. Result, it got a thrashing in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, with its candidate former MP Harmohan Dhawan managing only 3.9% of the total votes polled.
THE ANCHOR
Jarnail Singh, Chandigarh state in-charge
With the party banking heavily on the “Delhi Model” for winning elections in Chandigarh, the Delhi MLA is the direct link between the party’s national leadership, including Arvind Kejriwal, and the local leadership. Singh is directly involved in the party’s campaign, candidates’ selection and making the Delhi Model a cornerstone of the party’s election strategy. A good communicator, Singh takes centrestage in party’s attempts at positive public perception management.
THE ORGANISER
Prem Garg, AAP’s Chandigarh unit president
A charted accountant by profession, AAP’s local president Prem Garg has been mobilising party workers involved in boardroom planning, besides looking into the party’s finances. He has been associated with the party ever since it was formed in 2012. He is the face of the party, building links with different citizens’ groups like residents’ welfare associations, non-government organisations and professional groups, and administration and the election commission.
THE MASS MOBILISER
Pardeep Chhabra, co-incharge
Chhabra joined the AAP only around four months ago but has come to dominate the party’s political direction in the city. He has played a key role in the selection of candidates. Chhabra’s unceremonious exit from the Congress brought along a major swell in AAP’s grassroot-level workers’ strength. Chhabra, a former city mayor and former Congress president, has a strong network in the city and is actively mobilising support for the party’s candidates.
THE STRATEGIST
Chander Mukhi Sharma, campaign chairman
Acknowledged even by his opponent as a shrewd election strategist, Sharma is shaping the party’s election strategy even at the micro-level. Sharma played a key role in the party’s manifesto formation – bringing in local flavour to the “Delhi Model” based freebies after he ran a survey on “what city residents want from parties”. He is the main proponent of the party’s “alternative revenue generation model” thrust. Contesting from Ward 13, Sharma is also assisting other candidates in their feedback loop with voters and adapting their campaign as per voters’ needs.
BJP fighting anti-incumbency
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gunning to better its performance from the last MC polls wherein its alliance secured 21 out of 26 seats. “Development” works and its “achievements” in the last five years are the cornerstone of its election strategy. The party has listed more than 50 such achievements and it is the key message the party is aggressively putting across different media platforms and door-to-door campaigns. Known for its cadre strength, the party is facing a stiff challenge from more than a dozen rebel candidates as it tries to surmount once again the endemic party factionalism before the poll day.
There is also the issue of six-year long accumulating anti-incumbency factor. Issues like consistent poor show by Chandigarh under the Swachh Survekshan rankings is also a major challenge for the party.
A three-cornered fight between Congress, BJP and AAP makes its attempt at a win that much more complex and harder.
ALL IN ONE
Arun Sood, state president
The driving force of the BJP’s move to retain power, the city party chief Arun Sood is having a hands-on approach in the party’s election campaign. Sood is involved in the day-to-day management of campaign, coordinating with different party cells and deciding the daily tactics of candidates’ campaign. Sood is also a key player in party’s overall media and election campaign strategies. Selection of candidates, preparation of manifesto and responding to rival parties also comes under the party president’s role.
CRISIS MANAGER
Sanjay Tandon, former state president
Tandon, who served as the city chief for 10 years, is putting his knowledge and experience of the party’s grassroots-level to mobilise the party workers. He chairs multiple party meetings every day to ensure that the party ranks give their all as the poll day comes nearer. Tandon is an integral part of the party think-tank on various issues from campaign strategy to management. He also acts as crisis-manager, persuading rebel candidates to come back into the party fold.
LINK TO DELHI
Vinod Tawde, party’s national general secretary and election in-charge
The main link between the city unit and the party’s national leadership, Tawde is the overall in-charge of the party election campaign. He is also keeping all the factions of the party in-line, ensuring that they all work unison for party’s victory. He plays a key role in streamlining interventions from outside--central leaders, leaders from other states, and makes changes in campaigns, based on the intelligence and survey inputs.
IN-HOUSE COMMUNICATOR
Saudan Singh, national vice-president
In-charge of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, Saudan Singh is devising the party’s strategy and tactics for winning the election. He is actively involved in imparting these strategies to party workers, from top to bottom. Singh’s work centres around organisation and workers. He also had the final say in the selection of candidates. The party’s overall vision and the central leadership’s directions are also communicated to the party worker in the city unit through him.
