With three cross votes, BJP defeats Congress-AAP alliance in Chandigarh Mayoral Elections

BJP Councillors rejoice after winning the Chandigarh Mayoral Elections on Thursday. Pic/X

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured victory in the Chandigarh Mayoral Elections after winning 19 votes, news agency ANI reported.

BJP's candidate Harpreet Kaur Babla defeated Prem Lata from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who fought the elections in alliance with the Congress.

The AAP candidate managed winning 17 of the 36 total votes in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, ANI reported.

A total of 19 votes was needed for the majority. Of the total 36 votes, 35 are of councillors and one of the sole Member of Parliament (MP) from the Union Territory.

The voting for the post of Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation started around 11 am. During the voting, three councillors of the AAP-Congress alliance cross-voted against Prem Lata, carving a path of victory for BJP, ANI reported.

Meanwhile, moments before the Chandigarh Mayoral Elections, a first information report (FIR) was registered against former mayor and AAP Councillor Kuldeep Kumar and his brother-in-law Rahul Chanalia over alleged corruption in the recruitment of sanitation workers on a contract basis in the municipal corporation.

The complainant, Ravi Birla, on Tuesday, filed a plaint alleging that Rahul took a bribe of Rs 1 lakh on the pretext of a employment as a sanitation worker, but did not give the job.

According to Birla, he had paid Rs 75,000 through online mediums and cash worth Rs 30,000. He also presented 15 recordings and screenshots of the online transactions in support of his complaint.

Following his complaint, the Chandigarh Police's Crime Branch registered an FIR within 24 hours, which further heated up the election atmosphere.

On October 29, 2024, the municipal corporation passed a resolution to conduct voting by a 'show of hands' instead of the previous practice of secret ballot, with AAP's Kuldeep Kumar presiding over as mayor. Kuldeep Kumar, the AAP candidate, was declared as the winner of the mayoral elections by a division bench of the Supreme Court led by then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, in February 2024.

The top court had discovered that the then Returning Officer, Anil Masih, had on January 30, 2024, deliberately defaced eight ballots that were cast in favour of Kuldeep Kumar so as to make them invalid.

(With ANI inputs)