AAP, Congress seal alliance for Chandigarh mayoral polls

The AAP and the Congress forged an alliance on Monday for the upcoming Chandigarh mayoral polls.Under the arrangement, the Aam Aadmi Party AAP will fight for the mayors seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal said here.The development came amid the two constituents of the INDIA bloc holding talks over seat sharing for this years Lok Sabha polls.

The AAP and the Congress forged an alliance on Monday for the upcoming Chandigarh mayoral polls.

Under the arrangement, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal said here.

The development came amid the two constituents of the INDIA bloc holding talks over seat sharing for this year's Lok Sabha polls. But the state units of both parties in Punjab appear reluctant so far to make any concession to the other side.

After announcing the alliance of his party with the AAP, Bansal said, ''This is the beginning of the end of the BJP's misrule in Chandigarh.'' Chandigarh Congress president H S Lucky said AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar Tita will contest the polls for the mayor's post while Congress nominees Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi will fight for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor respectively.

Lucky added that Congress candidate Jasbir Bunty will withdraw his nomination for the mayor's post.

AAP candidates Neha Musavat and Poonam will withdraw their candidatures for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor respectively, he said.

With the AAP and the Congress deciding on a tie-up for the January 18 Chandigarh mayoral polls, the contest is going to be two-way and observers believe that the two parties will have an edge over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. It also has an ex-officio member MP who has voting rights.

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

The polls for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held on Thursday.

The mayor is elected by the councillors through secret ballots. Hence, the possibility of cross-voting cannot be ruled out.

The Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP's victory in the mayoral polls.

Elections for the three posts are held every year during the five-year term of the House. This year, the mayor's seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.