Mayoral polls to be held in Jan, will notify date soon: Chandigarh DC

This comes after a delegation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Chandigarh, on Thursday, met Yadav regarding the election of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor and requested the DC to hold mayoral polls on February 19, 2025, after the present mayor completes the term of one year

Clearing the air regarding the conduction of municipal corporation polls, deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Yadav on Thursday said that the elections will be held in January as per rule.

MC Act mentions that the corporation shall, at its first meeting each year, elect one of its elected members to be the chairperson to be known as the mayor and the other two such members to be the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the corporation, said Chandigarh deputy commissioner. (HT File)

“After MC wrote to fix a date for mayor elections, legal opinion was sought to confirm the Supreme Court’s order on Dhalor. After receiving the opinion, it was confirmed that the SC had not described the schedule for the next mayoral elections, confirming that the mayoral elections will be held in January as per the MC Act. MC Act mentions that the corporation shall, at its first meeting each year, elect one of its elected members to be the chairperson to be known as the mayor and the other two such members to be the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the corporation”, said Yadav, adding that he will soon notify a date for the polls.

This comes after a delegation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Chandigarh, on Thursday, met Yadav regarding the election of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor and requested the DC to hold mayoral polls on February 19, 2025, after the present mayor completes the term of one year.

The delegation comprised former DSP and AAP president Vijay Pal, mayor Kuldeep Kumar and senior AAP leader Dr Harmeet Singh.

The representatives submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner demanding that in the year 2024, through the decision of Special Leave Petition (Civil) in the Supreme Court, Kuldeep Kumar was declared elected as the eligible candidate as mayor for Chandigarh MC. Under Section 38(1) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the term of office of the elected mayor in Chandigarh MC is one year. The Punjab Municipal Corporation Act (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1994 extended to the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Section 38(1) of which provides that the Corporation shall, at its first meeting in every year, elect one of its members to be known as the mayor and such other two members to be known as the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The municipal corporation, Chandigarh is in its third year and by the decision of the Supreme Court Kuldeep Kumar assumed the office of Mayor on February 20, 2024, whose term of one year will be completed on February 19, 2025. In these circumstances, due to the intervention of the Supreme Court, the first meeting of the MC for the year 2025 is to be held after the completion of the term of the present mayor which is expiring on February 19, 2025. Therefore, keeping in view these circumstances, it was demanded to schedule the election of mayor on February 19, 2025, after the completion of the term of Mayor.

Bringing to notice the agenda passed during the October 26, 2024, General House meeting of the municipal corporation, the delegation also demanded that as per the resolution passed, the election of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor should be conducted by a “show of hands instead of secret ballot.

After the controversial mayoral elections of January 2024, the mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor-led AAP and its INDIA bloc alliance partner Congress had passed a resolution in the MC House meeting that “show of hands” be used while voting in future elections instead of the present provision of secret ballot.

The agenda tabled in the House had 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 is still pending with the UT administration for final approval and amendment in the Act.