Congress reaffirms joint fight with AAP to beat BJP in Chandigarh mayoral polls

Congress president HS Lucky said, “Though we have yet to decide on the candidates, all councillors and leaders of the party confirmed their support for the AAP. Our alliance is intact and we will fight together against the BJP.”

The Chandigarh Congress and AAP will jointly fight against the BJP in the upcoming mayoral elections, the Congress leaders reaffirmed on Friday after holding a meeting with party leaders.

The Chandigarh mayoral polls are scheduled at the MC office on January 24. (HT)

Congress president HS Lucky said, “Though we have yet to decide on the candidates, all councillors and leaders of the party confirmed their support for the AAP. Our alliance is intact and we will fight together against the BJP.”

Notably, AAP and Congress are hopeful of retaining the key municipal positions, banking on their numerical advantage in the 35-member Chandigarh MC. Currently, the INDIA bloc holds 21 votes in the MC House — 13 from AAP, seven from Congress and one ex-officio vote of Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari.

Conversely, the BJP has only 15 votes and is relying on cross-voting or defection of INDIA bloc councillors to tip the balance in its favour.

During the meeting of Congress councillors with city MP Manish Tewari and Lucky at the latter’s residence in Sector 8, Chandigarh, the Congress deliberated on various knotty problems being faced by the city in the light of “anti-Chandigarh stand consistently being taken by the local BJP and Chandigarh administration”.

While addressing the councillors, Tewari and Lucky exhorted them to work day and night to serve city residents, who had high hopes from the Congress party.

Besides Congress councillors, Yadwinder Mehta and Dilawar Singh, who are also office-bearers of the party, also attended the meeting, being spouses of two women councillors.

Another follow-up meeting of senior office-bearers of the party is scheduled to be held at the Sector-35 Congress Bhawan on Saturday, where the party activists will hold further deliberations on the agenda discussed in Friday’s meeting.