BJP’s Kuljeet Sandhu Wins Chandigarh Deputy Mayoral Polls

Bharatiya Janata Occasion’s Kuljeet Sandhu has been elected to the put up of senior deputy mayor in repolls within the Chandigarh Municipal Company after a carefully contested race with Gurpreet Singh Dabi, the joint candidate from Congress and Aam Aadmi Occasion. The elections for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Company had been held on Monday.

Sandhu secured 19 votes whereas Congress’ Gurpreet Gabi obtained 16 votes. One vote was declared invalid. The consequence was introduced by the mayor. Within the 35-member municipal Home, the BJP has 17 councillors. The variety of BJP’s power elevated from 14 to 17 after three AAP councillors converted to it on February 19. The AAP has 10 members whereas the Congress has seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor.

The Supreme Court docket on February 20 had overturned the January 30 outcomes of the Chandigarh mayoral ballot by which the BJP candidate had emerged an unlikely winner, and declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the town’s new mayor.

The method for election for the 2 posts is being carried out by Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) councillor Kumar who just lately assumed the cost of Chandigarh mayor. Within the January 30 ballot, BJP’s Manoj Sonkar had defeated Kumar to turn into mayor.

Alleging tampering of ballots, councillors of the AAP and the Congress boycotted the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, resulting in the victory of BJP’s Kuljit Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma.

Congress councillors Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi had been the candidates for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively. The BJP once more fielded Sandhu and Sharma.

Kumar had on Wednesday assumed the cost as mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Company, over every week after the Supreme Court docket declared him because the civic physique chief.

The mayor is the presiding officer for the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

Within the 35-member municipal Home, the BJP has 17 councillors. The variety of BJP’s power elevated from 14 to 17 after three AAP councillors converted to it on February 19.

Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, who’s a BJP member, additionally has voting rights as an ex-officio member of the company.

The AAP has 10 members whereas the Congress has seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor.

The Congress and the AAP are preventing the polls in alliance.

The court docket had additionally ordered prosecution of the returning officer for the ballot, Anil Masih, a BJP chief, for his ”misdemeanour”, after discovering critical faults within the conduct of the January 30 election. Sonkar had defeated the comfortably positioned AAP-Congress alliance candidate after the returning officer declared as invalid eight votes of the coalition companions, drawing accusations of tampering with ballots.

Sonkar of the BJP had defeated Kumar after polling 16 votes towards his rival’s 12 to bag the mayor’s put up.

Kumar had initially moved the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket towards the declaration of Chandigarh mayoral consequence on January 30. After not getting any interim reduction, he moved the Supreme Court docket for quashing the election of the BJP candidate because the mayor.

The Chandigarh administration on Tuesday had positioned a proper schedule relating to the polling for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor earlier than the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket.

Congress councillors Gabi and Devi, who had been the candidates for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively, had moved the excessive court docket, difficult the notification of the Chandigarh deputy commissioner for conducting the polls for these posts on February 27.

Then the Union territory administration withdrew its earlier notification and issued the recent notification for holding the ballot on March 4.

(with PTI inputs)