The Mayoral polls in Chandigarh would be held on January 5 instead of January 1. The final date to hold the elections was issued by the UT Deputy Commissioner Mohd. Shayin on Monday. The decision came after the request of local MP Kirron Kher and councillors to change the election date of January 1.
last month, the local MP Kirron Kher had written to the UT Administration to hold the mayoral elections before January 1 stating that during the first five years after the MC was formed, the mayoral elections were held on December 23. Most of the councillors had also requested that the elections should be held in December because those contesting for the posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor had to campaign for atleast a week ahead of the elections, during which residents celebrated Christmas and New Year's Eve. The elections should be held in December, stated Kher.
However, Mayor Harphool Kalyan had said that Mayor’s tenure was for one year and no elections could take place before the completion of present Mayor’s tenure, which would end on December 31.
Now, the UT Administration has decided to hold the elections on January 5 giving ample time to the political parties to campaign prior to the elections and enjoy the winter vacation during last week of December.
The Mayoral post is reserved for women in the year 2015. This time, first-time councillors Poonam Sharma of Congress and Asha Kumari Jaswal of the BJP are leading the race as candidates to the top post of Mayor.
With SAD-BJP having total of 12 elected councillors in the house of 36 members, the party has an edge over Congress which has 10 elected councilors now after its two councillors Raj Bala Malik and Sat Parkash Aggrawal switched loyalties to the BJP this year.
The MCC house has a total of 36 members, comprising 26 elected, nine nominated and Member of Parliament, who is ex-officio member having voting rights during the Mayoral elections. Notably, it was more than a decade back when the BJP had its mayor in the city. The last time the BJP had its Mayor was from December 1999 to December 2000, when BJP’s Shanta Hit Abhilashi held the post and since then, the numbers were not in favor of the party.
Earlier this year, the city BJP had managed to wrest two seats including of senior deputy Mayor and deputy Mayor from Congress in the Mayoral polls held on January 1, 2014 leaving just one seat of Mayor for the Congress, which had faced the defeat in the polls after 12 years.