The countdown for the Chandigarh mayoral election has begun with Councillors switching political parties and leaders shifting to different states in fear of horse-trading. While the official announcement of Congress-AAP joining hands under the INDIA alliance for the Chandigarh Mayor Poll is yet to be done, political parties have shifted their councilors in different states. The Chandigarh mayoral poll will take place on January 18, 2023, and seeing the dynamics changing Congress and AAP are looking to strengthen despite the fact BJP has the majority.
To be precise, in the Chandigarh Mayor elections, the I.N.D.I.A alliance between Congress and AAP seems to be on the rise. As per reports, an agreement has been reached between the two regarding this. Under this, the post of Mayor will go to AAP and Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor to Congress. In return, AAP will support Congress on the Lok Sabha seat.
For those who are unaware, there are a total of 35 councilors in Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Apart from these 35 votes, the vote of the MP is also valid in the mayoral election. There are 14 councilors from BJP, 13 from AAP, 7 from Congress, and one councilor from Akali Dal. From the point of view of the Mayor election, BJP has the majority because apart from 14 councilors, they also have the votes of Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher. Earlier, due to this reason, BJP's Sarbjit Kaur and Anoop Gupta had become mayors for one year each.
But, if the alliance of AAP and Congress reaches a consensus then together they will have 20 votes from both the councilors and they can win all three posts mentioned above.
For those who haven't followed the Chandigarh Mayoral politics, in December 2021 MC elections, AAP had clinched 14 seats, the highest in the 35-member MC House. BJP had won 12, the Congress eight, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could manage only one seat. However, in May 2022, AAP councilor Taruna Mehta reportedly joined the Congress, reducing AAP’s numbers to 13.
On January 10, 2024, another AAP councilor, Lakhbir Singh Billu, joined the BJP, further denting its strength in the House. However, in a surprise move, on January 13, as the BJP was heading to file nominations for the mayoral poll, its councilor Gurcharanjit Singh Kala switched to AAP, sending shockwaves in the political arena.