BJP takes on AAP-Congress combine in Chandigarh mayoral polls, heavy security put in place

Chandigarh: Heavy police deployment is being put in place for Tuesday's mayoral polls in Chandigarh that will pit the BJP against an alliance of the AAP and the Congress.

About 800 police personnel, along with those from the paramilitary force, will be deployed during the poll process. There will also be a three-layer barricade around the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

The elections to the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held on Tuesday at 10 am following directions from Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The polls were originally scheduled for January 18 but were deferred to February 6 by the Chandigarh administration after the presiding officer fell ill. The administration had at that time also said the polls were postponed after assessing the law-and-order situation.

The mayoral polls assume significance with opposition INDIA bloc members the Congress and the AAP joining hands to contest the elections against the BJP, which has held the mayor's post for the past eight years.

As part of the alliance, the AAP is contesting for the mayor's post while the Congress is fielding candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

The BJP has 14 councillors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Its Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher also has voting rights as an ex-officio member.

The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor.

The administration's order deferring the polls had triggered protests by the Congress and the AAP councillors.

Kuldeep Kumar, the AAP's candidate for the post of mayor, challenged the Chandigarh deputy commissioner's order to defer the elections in the high court.

In its January 24 order, the high court directed the Chandigarh administration to hold the mayoral polls at 10 am on January 30. It also quashed the administration's January 18 order postponing the elections while holding it 'unreasonable, unjustified and arbitrary'.

The high court had also directed that the councillors who come to cast their votes shall not be accompanied by any supporters or security personnel belonging to any other state.

The Chandigarh Police will ensure security to the councillors, the court had said.

The police have also been asked to ensure that no ruckus or untoward incident takes place on or around the civic body premises during or after the election process.

Elections to the three posts are held every year during the House's five-year term. The Congress had abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP's victory in the polls.

The election of the mayor is done through secret ballot.

For this year's elections -- the third for this term -- the mayor's seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. The BJP has fielded Manoj Sonkar while the AAP has nominated Kumar.

For the post of senior deputy mayor, the BJP's Kuljeet Sandhu will go up against the Congress' Gurpreet Singh Gabi.

Rajinder Sharma of the BJP will take on Congress candidate Nirmala Devi for the post of deputy mayor.