Chandigarh: The BJP emerged victorious in the Chandigarh mayoral election, securing 19 votes to beat the AAP-Congress alliance, which garnered 17 votes. Harpreet Kaur Babla from the BJP defeated AAP's Prem Lata in a closely watched contest.
The election took place in the assembly hall of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, with voting starting at 11:20 am and concluding by 12.30 pm.
Notably, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is made up of 35 members, including elected councillors and the Chandigarh MP, who also holds voting rights. Before the election, the seat distribution was as follows: AAP with 13 councillors, Congress with 6, BJP with 16, and 1 vote from the Chandigarh MP, who is from Congress.
In the 35-member council, the AAP-Congress alliance had 19 councillors in total (13 from AAP and 6 from Congress, while the BJP had 16 votes). To secure a majority, the BJP needed 19 votes, and they relied on some defections or cross-voting to make up the difference.
A day before the election, there were reports of internal conflicts within the AAP, and a photo emerged showing their councillors being kept in a hotel in Punjab's Ropar town to prevent poaching. The picture reportedly included three councillors who were unhappy with the party.
AAP’s candidate, Prem Lata, is the wife of a retired Indian Air Force officer and a government school teacher. BJP's Harpreet Babla, who is serving her second term as a councillor, is the daughter of a retired Army Colonel. She is married to former Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla.
Before the election, Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat switched sides, joining the BJP and strengthening their position. The Congress had also nominated Jasbir Singh Bunty and Taruna Mehta for the roles of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively.
The election was held through a secret ballot. Retired Justice Jaishree Thakur from the Punjab and Haryana High Court was appointed as an independent observer by the Supreme Court to monitor the process, which was also required to be videographed.
