Cross-voting helps BJP to defeat AAP in Chandigarh poll for mayor's post

Chandigarh: Dealing a blow to the AAP-Congress combine, the BJP on Thursday won the post of mayor after cross-voting in the high-stakes Chandigarh mayoral elections that took place here on Thursday.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-backed Congress candidates won the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

The victory of the BJP candidate for the post of mayor showed that cross-voting took place with three more votes going in the saffron party's favour.

The contest for the mayoral polls was between the BJP and AAP-Congress combine.

As part of the understanding between AAP and Congress, the Arvind Kejriwal outfit was fighting for the post of mayor while the grand old party was contesting for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

In a jolt to the AAP-Congress combine, BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla was elected as the new mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) after she defeated AAP nominee Prem Lata.

In the outgoing MC House, the Mayor's post was held by AAP.

BJP's Babla secured 19 votes while AAP's Lata got 17 votes. No vote was found to be invalid.

The result for the post of mayor was announced by presiding officer Ramneek Singh Bedi.

The shock defeat of the AAP-Congress combine in the election for the mayor's post came despite both parties having 20 votes in the 35-member house of the Chandigarh MC. A total of 19 votes are required to win the poll.

After Babla's name was announced as the new mayor, the BJP councillors congratulated her for her victory. Outside the MC building, the BJP workers lined up on the road burst into celebration.

Polling for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor took place after the election of the mayor and it was conducted by the newly elected mayor.

Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Bunty won the post of senior deputy mayor after defeating BJP's Bimla Dubey. Bunty polled 19 while Dubey got 17 votes.

Congress nominee Taruna Mehta was elected as deputy mayor after defeating BJP contestant Lakhbir Singh Billu. Mehta got 19 while Billu secured 17 votes.

Though the BJP lost the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, the saffron party, which should have got 16 votes, got an extra vote, again indicating cross-voting.

In the 35-member house of the Chandigarh MC, AAP has 13 councillors and its ally Congress has six councillors. The BJP has a strength of 16 councillors.

Besides, the Chandigarh MP also has a voting right as an ex-officio member of the 35-member municipal corporation. Manish Tewari is the sitting MP of the Congress and he also cast his vote for all the three posts for which polls were held.

The Supreme Court last year had overturned the result of the Chandigarh mayoral poll in which the BJP candidate had emerged an unlikely winner, and declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the new city mayor.

It had also ordered prosecution of the returning officer for the poll, Anil Masih, a BJP leader, for his "misdemeanour", after finding serious faults in the conduct of the January 30 election.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had said it was evident that Masih made deliberate attempt to deface eight ballot papers.

The BJP had won the mayoral poll defeating the comfortably placed AAP-Congress alliance candidate after the returning officer declared as invalid eight votes of the coalition partners, drawing accusations of tampering with ballots.

Manoj Sonkar of the BJP had defeated Kuldeep Kumar after polling 16 votes against his rival's 12 to bag the mayor's post. Sonkar, however, resigned subsequently, while three AAP councillors defected to the BJP.

Reacting to the outcome of Thursday's polling for the mayor post, Chandigarh BJP president Jitender Pal Malhotra said they were confident that their party would register victory.

Chandigarh Congress president Harmohinder Singh Lucky admitted that cross-voting took place and said he was upset with the defeat of AAP nominee Prem Lata.

"We wanted to win all three posts. Whosoever the black sheep in any of the parties (Congress, AAP), he will be identified and strict action will be taken," said Lucky.

To a question on cross-voting, he said, "Strictest action will be taken against the person who has done this, be that person from our party or AAP, we will throw that person out of the party. We will take it to a logical conclusion. Those who betray their parties should not be spared."

Speaking to the media after assuming the mayor's post, Harpreet Kaur Babla (60) thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda and other party leaders.

Lashing out at the Congress-AAP alliance, she said it was not a 'gathbandhan' but 'thagbandhan'.

Babla said she will soon prepare a roadmap for the city's development and said the city has lagged behind in all aspects be it roads, parks or street lights in the past 12 months.

"We will make Chandigarh number one not only in the country but also in the world," she said.

To a question on alleged corruption in the Chandigarh MC, she asserted that there will be zero tolerance towards corruption.

She described her win as a "big victory" and said it was the voice of everyone that if anyone could work for Chandigarh's development, it could only be BJP's mayor.

Union minister Ranvneet Singh Bittu said the BJP's victory in the election for the post of Chandigarh mayor underscored the "public rejection of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Congress' politics of convenience".

Earlier, polling for the post of mayor through secret ballot began around 11.20 am in the assembly hall of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Polling ended at 12.19 pm. The polling for all three posts concluded in three hours.

The Supreme Court had appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice (retd) Jaishree Thakur as an independent observer for the mayoral poll.

Tight security arrangements were made around the Chandigarh MC building.