Chandigarh Mayor Election: I.N.D.I.A Bloc Suffers First Defeat As BJP's Manoj Sonkar Wins

In a significant blow to the INDIA bloc, Manoj Sonkar, the BJP nominee, secured victory as the new mayor in the recently concluded first round of voting. The upcoming second round of voting will determine the senior deputy and deputy mayor positions.

BJP MP Kirron Kher exercised her voting rights for the mayoral election in Chandigarh, where an extensive police deployment, including around 800 personnel and paramilitary forces, is in place. A three-layer barricade envelops the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, aiming to ensure a secure environment during and after the election process.

Instructions have been issued to the police to prevent disturbances around the civic body premises. Specifically, Punjab Police personnel are barred from entering the Municipal Corporation with AAP or Congress councillors or any other AAP leader.

Media coverage during the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Mayor elections will not be permitted inside the House. Instead, the Municipal Corporation is arranging a screen to broadcast live proceedings for media viewing.

Significantly, the mayoral election involves a secret ballot. For this term's third round of elections, the mayor's seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste category.

According to PTI, BJP's Manoj Sonkar and AAP's Kuldeep Kumar Tita are contenders for the mayor seat. The senior deputy mayor position sees competition between BJP's Kuljeet Sandhu and Congress's Gurpreet Singh Gabi, while BJP's Rajinder Sharma and Congress's Nirmala Devi vie for the deputy mayor post.

The polls hold special significance as the Congress and AAP, both members of the INDIA bloc, collaborate to challenge the BJP's eight-year mayoral reign. The AAP contests for the mayor's post, with the Congress fielding candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

The mayor is elected by secret ballot, leaving room for potential cross-voting. The Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, resulting in BJP's victories in the mayoral polls.

Elections for the three posts occur annually during the five-year term of the House. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation comprises 35 members, with the BJP holding 14 seats, AAP 13, Congress 7, and Shiromani Akali Dal representing one councillor.

Originally scheduled for January 18, the mayoral polls were postponed to February 6 due to the presiding officer's illness, prompting protests. The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on January 24, overturned the postponement, directing the administration to conduct the mayoral polls on January 30, emphasizing the absence of supporters or security personnel from other states accompanying councillors during voting.