Sunil Khanna is new Chandigarh Club president

Anurag Aggarwal, 54, also an industrialist, was elected as the vice-president; the new governing body will serve a three-year term

Bagging 1,623 votes, city-based industrialist Sunil Khanna, 62, was elected as the new president of Chandigarh Club on Sunday.

Sunil Khanna, 62, an industrialist, celebrating his win with his supporters at Chandigarh Club on Sunday. (HT Photo)

Anurag Aggarwal, 54, also an industrialist, was elected as the vice-president. The new governing body will serve a three-year term. The elections were conducted after a gap of eight years. The outgoing council was elected way back in 2016, but subsequent elections were delayed owing to legal disputes and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aligned with outgoing president Sandeep Sahni’s group, Khanna defeated his closest rival, Naresh Chaudhary, who bagged 1,495 votes, by a close margin of 128 votes.

The third candidate, Ramneet Singh Chahal, managed to secure only 104 votes.

Aggarwal garnered 1,129 votes, narrowly defeating his nearest competitor, Karan Vir Nanda, who received 1,110 votes. The third candidate, Anurag Chopra, secured 973 votes.

As many as eight executive members were also elected. These included Paramveer Singh Babla, Jasman Singh Rikhy, Vikram Bedi, Vikaas Bector, Rachit Goyal, Aadesh Joshi, Sanjay Pahwa and Rohit Suri .

On Sunday, out of a total of 7,441 eligible members, less than 50% — 3,292 — had voted to pick the club’s next governing council.

Established in 1957, Chandigarh Club is the city’s oldest social spot in upscale Sector 1, with a notable membership list, which includes former and serving ministers and politicians from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, as well as judges, bureaucrats, lawyers and business leaders.