Chandigarh is gearing up for a crucial mayoral election today, marking a face-off between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and an alliance of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress. The election, initially scheduled for January 18, was postponed to February 6 due to the illness of presiding officer Anil Masih and concerns over the law-and-order situation. Despite protests, Masih was reappointed, leading to an extensive police deployment of around 800 personnel and additional paramilitary forces, securing the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation with a three-layer barricade.
The Chandigarh Press Club has urged the Centre to allow media coverage of the voting process, after an initial denial. The AAP-Congress alliance, holding a combined total of 20 votes in the 35-member Municipal Corporation House, poses a challenge to the BJP’s 15 votes. The magic number for victory is 19.
Legal hurdles marked the election process, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the administration to conduct the mayoral polls today, overturning the earlier postponement deemed “unreasonable, unjustified, and arbitrary.” The court emphasized the need for free and fair elections, prohibiting councillors from being accompanied by supporters or security personnel from other states.
The AAP-Congress alliance strategically nominated candidates for various positions. Kuldeep Kumar of the AAP is contesting for the mayoral post, while the Congress is fielding candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The alliance aims to break the BJP’s eight-year rule.
Voting is set to begin at 10 am, conducted through a secret ballot. In this year’s elections, the mayor’s seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste category, with Manoj Sonkar representing the BJP and Mr. Kumar from the AAP as contenders. The senior deputy mayor post will see Kuljeet Sandhu of the BJP facing off against Congress’s Gurpreet Singh Gabi, while the deputy mayor position will be contested between BJP’s Rajinder Sharma and Congress’s Nirmala Devi.
All parties are adopting a cautious approach, keeping their councillors on the move before the polling day. The outcome of this mayoral election is anticipated to set the tone for broader political dynamics ahead of the general elections, especially considering Nitish Kumar’s recent switch to the NDA.
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