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Gurbax Rawat joins BJP ahead of Chandigarh mayoral elections
With this, the INDIA bloc is left with 20 votes in House — 13 from AAP, six from Congress, and one ex officio vote of MP Manish Tewari — while the BJP has 16 votes. The saffron party now requires only three more votes to secure the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor in the January 30 elections.
In a major blow to the INDIA bloc just two days before the mayoral elections, three-time Congress councillor from Ward 27, Gurbax Rawat, 42, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with her husband Birender Singh Rawat, on Monday.
With this, the INDIA bloc is left with 20 votes in House — 13 from AAP, six from Congress, and one ex officio vote of MP Manish Tewari — while the BJP has 16 votes. The saffron party now requires only three more votes to secure the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor in the January 30 elections.
Rawat, who had been associated with the Congress for over two decades, had won three consecutive elections from Ward 27. She was also the member of the All-India Congress Committee.
After joining the BJP, Rawat expressed her admiration for the party’s work, stating that she had always believed the BJP was doing commendable work. She said that the BJP’s “discipline and commitment to progress” were the key factors that convinced her that the party was best suited to lead both the city and the country forward. She added that she will work doubly hard now.
Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky reacted strongly to Rawat’s defection, stating, “Gurbax Rawat has let down the city’s residents. Not only has she abandoned her responsibilities as a councillor, but also betrayed the trust and mandate of the people of Chandigarh and the Congress party. She has been absent for the past three years and was out of the country during the last Lok Sabha elections.”
Lucky further alleged that the BJP’s motives were clear. “Last year, they undermined democracy by rigging the mayoral elections through Anil Masih. Now, they are engaging in shameless horse-trading and buying councillors’ loyalties using money and muscle power. The people of Chandigarh will not forget this betrayal by Rawat and the BJP.”
BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra, senior BJP leader Sanjay Tandon, and BJP mayoral candidate Harpreet Kaur Babla were present when Rawat and her husband formally joined the saffron fold at the party office in Sector 33.
Malhotra criticised the AAP-Congress alliance, accusing them of lacking cohesion. He pointed out that the two parties had failed to hold a single joint press conference or official meeting to announce their alliance. He also claimed that councillors from both parties were confused, as they criticised each other in Delhi while presenting themselves as allies in Chandigarh.
Fearing poaching, parties move councillors to resorts
Ahead of the high-stakes January 30 mayoral elections, the AAP and Congress moved their councillors to resorts in Punjab, an AAP-ruled state, to avoid poaching attempts.
All six Congress councillors, along with Member of Parliament Manish Tewari, have been shifted to a resort in Ludhiana. Similarly, 11 AAP councillors have been relocated to a resort near Rupnagar.
