India: BJP Wins Chandigarh Mayoral Polls, Defeats AAP-Congress Alliance

In a significant electoral victory, India’s ruling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured success in the Chandigarh mayor elections held on Tuesday, emerging victorious against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-Congress alliance. The mayoral poll marked the first electoral clash between the BJP and the INDIA bloc, setting the stage for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

BJP’s candidate, Manoj Sonkar, clinched 16 votes, securing the mayoral post and triumphing over AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar, who garnered 12 votes, according to a report by PTI.

This victory extends the BJP’s unbroken eight-year dominance in the mayor’s position, reaffirming their stronghold in the region.

The electoral contest assumed heightened significance as it marked the inaugural face-off between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the INDIA bloc in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, following the unexpected switch by Nitish Kumar. The AAP and Congress, both integral members of the INDIA bloc, formed an alliance to challenge the BJP in this crucial electoral battle.

Originally scheduled for January 18, the mayoral polls faced a delay to February 6 due to the illness of presiding officer Anil Masih, combined with concerns about the prevailing law-and-order situation. The electoral process encountered legal hurdles, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court issuing a directive on January 24, instructing the Chandigarh administration to proceed with the mayoral polls on January 30. The court deemed the earlier postponement as “unreasonable, unjustified, and arbitrary.”