Polls for Chandigarh senior deputy, deputy mayor on February 27

During the January 30 mayoral polls, BJP’s Manoj Sonkar had won the mayor’s post after the presiding officer, Anil Masih, deliberately defaced eight votes of the AAP-Congress, before declaring them invalid

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to set aside the Chandigarh mayoral elections held on February 20, that also rendered the results for the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor positions void, the UT administration has issued a notification scheduling a fresh election for the two positions on February 27.

On February 20, the Supreme Court overturned the results of Chandigarh mayoral polls and declared AAP candidate Kuldeep Dhalor the winner in a landmark decision. The apex court also directed fresh elections for the two posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, stating, “The other elections which are required to be held in terms of the regulations shall now take place in accordance with law.” (HT Photo)

In the notification, Chandigarh deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh said, “Following the recent judgment and directions passed by the Supreme Court, Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor has been declared as the mayor of the MC. The elections for the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held on February 27 (Tuesday) at 10 am in the Assembly Hall of the Chandigarh municipal corporation. The mayor will be the presiding authority for the elections.”

“Furthermore, as per the directives of the Punjab and Haryana high court, Chandigarh Police will ensure adequate security measures during the election process to maintain law and order. Also, the councillors, who come for voting, will not be accompanied by supporters or security personnel belonging to any other state,” the notification further read.

During the January 30 mayoral polls, BJP’s Manoj Sonkar had won the mayor’s post after the presiding officer, Anil Masih, deliberately defaced eight votes of the AAP-Congress, before declaring them invalid.

After being elected, Sonkar had conducted election of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, where BJP candidates Kuljeet Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma were declared winners, respectively, with 16 votes each, after AAP and Congress councillors staged a walk-out.

But on February 20, the Supreme Court overturned the results of Chandigarh mayoral polls and declared AAP candidate Kuldeep Dhalor the winner in a landmark decision.

A three-judge bench of the top court held the election results to be “patently illegal” and ordered criminal proceedings against Masih, a former BJP office-bearer, for deliberately defacing eight ballots and lying before the court.

The apex court also directed fresh elections for the other two posts, stating, “The other elections which are required to be held in terms of the regulations shall now take place in accordance with law.”

In the fresh elections, however, the nominations will remain the same. Congress councillors Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi will contest for the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor posts, respectively, as part of the agreement with AAP, its INDIA bloc partner. The BJP will again field Kuljeet Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma for the two posts, respectively.

BJP ahead in number game

While the AAP-Congress alliance has wrested the mayor’s post from the BJP, they are unlikely to succeed in the election for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

After three AAP councillors defected to the BJP on Sunday, two days before the apex court’s verdict, the saffron party now has the numerical edge in the 35-member MC House. With 17 councillors, one ex-officio vote of BJP MP Kirron Kher and support of the sole SAD councillor, BJP can reach the magic number of 19.

AAP, on the other hand, is stranded with only 10 councillors, and even the pre-poll alliance with the Congress, which has seven votes, cannot help the INDIA bloc. At least two of the three turncoat councillors returning to the AAP is the combine’s only hope for victory.

No big AAP leaders at swearing-in

Though the local AAP unit wanted to make the new mayor’s swearing-in ceremony a grand event, Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann and senior leader Raghav Chadha are likely to give the event a miss.

“The party chief and big leaders have other political commitments, so they are unlikely to join for the swearing-in ceremony, scheduled on February 26. Only Punjab MP and senior AAP leader Sandeep Kumar Pathak will be joining us,” said Chandigarh AAP co-incharge, Dr SS Ahluwalia.