Jolt to AAP-Cong Alliance as BJP’s Harpreet Babla wins Chandigarh Mayoral Poll

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Jolt to AAP-Cong Alliance as BJP’s Harpreet Babla wins Chandigarh Mayoral Poll

Friday, 31 January 2025 | MANOJ KUMAR | Chandigarh

In a major jolt to the Congress-AAP alliance, BJP’s Harpreet Babla on Thursday won the high-stake Chandigarh Mayoral polls against AAP candidate Prem Lata. The result is a severe political setback for the AAP-Congress alliance, which had 20 councillors before the election.  This time the seat, with a tenure of a year, was reserved for women.

The Chandigarh Mayoral election for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor were held in the Assembly Hall of the Municipal Corporation. The voting through secret ballot began at 11 am under the supervision of Justice Jaishree Thakur, retired judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, who was appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the elections. No mobile phones, cameras, weapons, electronic gadgets, pens and pencils were allowed during the election process.

In the 35-member House, the AAP-Congress alliance has 19 councillors -- 13 votes of AAP and six of the Congress, while the BJP has 16 votes. The year-old alliance also banked on one vote of ex-officio member and its MP Manish Tewari, taking its total votes to 20. There was a direct contest between the AAP’s Prem Lata and the BJP’s Harpreet Kaur Babla. In the run-up to the polls, the Congress' senior woman councillor Gurbax Rawat had switched loyalties and joined the BJP. Earlier, amid reports of bickering, the AAP a day earlier released a photo of all councillors being kept in a hotel in Punjab’s Ropar town to prevent “poaching”. The photo comprised three councillors who are reportedly “upset” with the party. The BJP was relying on cross-voting or defections to achieve the 19-vote mark for a majority.

Hours before the mayoral polling, Chandigarh Police on Wednesday night booked Mayor Kuldeep Kumar of the AAP and his brother-in-law Rahul on charges of cheating and corruption. The case was registered on the complaint of a resident of Ram Darbar, who alleged that he paid Rs 75,000 to Rahul, who had promised him a sanitation worker job. Despite making payments, he alleged he did not receive the job. Just 30 minutes before the voting began, Kuldeep Kumar got interim bail in the case.

As many as 36 votes, including that of Member of Parliament Manish Tewari, were polled during the elections which were recorded on camera. Due to 'cross-voting' by three councillors, BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla was elected new Mayor of Chandigarh. While Harpreet Babla got 19 votes, Prem Lata got 17 votes.

 Babla, the second time councillor, is the daughter of a retired Army Colonel and is married to former councillor Devinder Singh Babla, who was previously with the Congress.  Talking to Reporters, she said that she would focus on enhancing urban development and addressing key civic issues to improve the quality of life for residents.


However, Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Bunty secured the post of Senior Deputy Mayor. He got 19 votes, while his nearest rival and BJP candidate Bimla Dubey secured 17 votes.  Congress candidate Taruna Mehta has been elected Deputy mayor. She defeated BJP candidate Lakhbir Singh Billu. Mehta got 19 votes while Billu secured 17.

BJP workers celebrate their party’s triumph

The atmosphere outside the Municipal Corporation office in Sector 17, Chandigarh, was electric as BJP workers celebrated their party’s triumph in the mayoral election, with Babla emerging victorious with 19 votes. The win was met with joy and optimism, with BJP leaders confident that it signals a broader electoral victory for the party.  This mayoral election is the fourth year of the five-year rotational system. Before this outgoing mayoral term, the BJP had retained the seat for nine times in a row.

Talking to Reporters, BJP Chandigarh vice president Devinder Singh Babla, husband of the newly-elected mayor, credited the win to the party’s strategy and the performance of outgoing AAP Mayor Kuldeep Kumar. "We were confident that this will indeed happen. Mayor Kuldeep Kumar made up for everything else that remained. He showed that he was looting the corporation... We will get that enquired,” Devinder said.

 

Responding to the INDIA bloc's defeat, BJP leader Sanjay Tandon said, “Where was their (INDIA bloc) majority? I don’t think they ever had one... They chose BJP for the betterment of Chandigarh.” Chandigarh BJP President Jatinder Pal Malhotra expressed his elation, stating, "This victory is for every BJP worker and every citizen of Chandigarh. It’s a decisive win over the unholy alliance that was trying to portray themselves as the city’s leaders.


Deeply saddened by Loss of the Mayoral seat: Congress

Meanwhile, Congress leaders expressed their disappointment over the loss, with Chandigarh Congress President Harmohinder Singh Lucky questioning the integrity of the process. "Someone tried to play a game. It's becoming clearer now," Lucky said. "While we are pleased with Jasbir Singh Bunty’s win as Senior Deputy Mayor, we are deeply saddened by the loss of the mayoral seat. We will assess the situation and find the ‘black sheep.’ Whoever played this game, we will expose them," Lucky said.

AAP blames Congress for cross-voting

After Congress and AAP faced a humiliating defeat for the Chandigarh mayor's post despite a majority, the latter accused its partner of indulging in cross-voting. Senior AAP leader and spokesperson Neel Garg said Congress councillors indulged in cross-voting, leading to the election of the BJP candidate. Garg further said that the Congress councillors have betrayed them. "The Congress and the BJP are secretly in collusion. This incident has made it completely clear. Both are two sides of the same coin," he told the media. He said that the public should not trust Congress either because if people vote for it, their councillors would later support the BJP. He claimed the Congress would do the same in Delhi as well. "There too, they will end up supporting the BJP. Hence, voting for the Congress is equivalent to wasting one's vote," he said. Garg said the councillors from the Aam Aadmi Party supported the Congress. Their Deputy Mayor and Senior Deputy Mayor were elected with our votes. "But they have betrayed us," he added.

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