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It’s AAP’s Prem Lata vs BJP’s Harpreet in race for next Chandigarh mayor
AAP pits party loyalist Prem Lata against BJP’s Harpreet Kaur Babla amid open opposition from other female councillors
The stage is set for a fierce political battle in Chandigarh as AAP loyalist Prem Lata, backed by an alliance with Congress, will square off against BJP’s Harpreet Kaur Babla for the coveted mayoral post in the upcoming elections on January 30.
With Saturday being the final day to file nominations, all three major political parties declared their candidates for the three key positions —mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.
The BJP has put forward Harpreet Kaur Babla for mayor, Bimala Dubey for senior deputy mayor and Lakhbir Singh Billu for deputy mayor.
The Congress, sticking to its alliance pact with AAP, has nominated Jasbir Singh Bunty for senior deputy mayor and Taruna Mehta for deputy mayor.
According to their agreement, the Congress will contest for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, while the AAP has fielded Prem Lata for the mayor’s post.
The mayoral elections in Chandigarh follow a five-year rotation system, with the fourth year reserved for women candidates. The other two posts are not reserved.
Harpreet, 60, wife of seasoned Chandigarh politician Devinder Singh Babla, had started her political career with the Congress, winning the civic body elections for the first time in 2001. After a successful re-election in 2021 on a Congress ticket, Babla made headlines by switching allegiance to the BJP post-victory.
Her opponent Prem Lata, 46, is a former Congress member who joined the AAP just 15 days before the 2021 elections after being denied a ticket. It was her maiden fight that she went on to win.
As the elections draw near, the contest will serve as a crucial test for the INDIA bloc in Chandigarh, with the AAP and the Congress under significant pressure to display unity amid ongoing rumors of internal strife.
If all goes well, the AAP-Congress alliance is likely to maintain its hold on the key positions, thanks to their numerical advantage with 21 votes in the 35-member municipal corporation (MC) House. The BJP, conversely, has just 15 votes, and is hoping for cross-voting or defections to tip the scales in its favour. A majority of 19 votes is required to win the election.
AAP’s internal friction threatens unity ahead of crucial election
Meanwhile, AAP’s internal discord has added another layer of drama to the race.
The party’s decision to field Prem Lata as its mayoral candidate sparked open opposition from several female councillors, including Anju Katyal, Poonam and Jaswinder Kaur, who had all been vying for the position.
The announcement made just an hour before nominations, led to dissent from other women councillors and their spouses, with Anju Katyal and Poonam not accompanying Prem Lata for the nomination filing process altogether.
Neha, another councillor, appeared disengaged during the nomination procedure, reflecting the growing discord.
Sources suggested that Prem Lata’s loyalty to AAP, particularly in light of internal dissent, played a key role in her selection as the party’s candidate.
“Anju Katyal’s chances were dimmed due to her loss to BJP’s Sarabjeet Kaur in the 2022 mayoral election, while Poonam and Neha’s brief defection to the BJP during the 2024 mayoral elections, ahead of the Supreme Court verdict declaring Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor as mayor, also weakened their positions. Jaswinder Kaur, who hoped her village background would secure her the ticket, was ultimately overlooked,” said party insiders.
Fearing poaching, AAP ships out councillors, five stay back
With rifts coming to the fore, AAP now faces the uphill task of ensuring unity within its party. To manage the fallout and shield councillors from potential poaching by rival factions, AAP leaders moved some councillors to an undisclosed location immediately after the nominations.
However, party insiders revealed that dissenting leaders, including Anju Katyal, Poonam, Jasbir Singh Laddi, Manauwar and Jaswinder Kaur, chose to stay back in Chandigarh, till the filing of this report, signalling discord.
It is worth mentioning that Laddi and Poonam have been skipping party meetings for the last few days, and both had refused to accept party office-bearer posts.
With the election set to take place at 11 am in the MC Office’s Assembly Hall in Sector 17 on January 30, all eyes will be on whether the AAP-Congress alliance can overcome their internal divides and retain control, or if the BJP can stage an upset. The results will be announced soon after.
