Ahead of F&CC poll, 2 AAP councillors return to party

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, March 9

Barley two days before the Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) election, AAP councillors Neha Musawat and Poonam, who had recently defected to the BJP, today returned to their original party, giving a huge blow to the saffron party.

Advantage alliance

Now, the BJP has 15, AAP 12, Congress seven and the SAD one councillor in the MC House. The INDIA bloc partners, AAP and the Congress, are leading with 19 votes against 17 of the BJP, which include the vote of ex-officio member MP Kirron Kher and that of the lone SAD councillor.

It’s homecoming

While living together, discords occur at homes too. Now, we have decided to forget all things that happened in the past and returned home. — Neha Musawat, Ward No. 19 councillor

Happy to return

I have no problem now and am very happy to return to the party. — Poonam, Ward No. 16 councillor

Now, the BJP has 15, AAP 12, Congress seven and the SAD one councillor in the MC House. The INDIA bloc partners, AAP and the Congress, are leading with 19 votes against 17 of the BJP, which include the vote of ex-officio member MP Kirron Kher and that of the lone SAD councillor.

The AAP-Congress alliance and the BJP have filed nominations for three seats each in the five-member F&CC. The elections are scheduled for March 11.

The F&CC elections are held through secret voting by councillors in the assembly hall. They are supposed to give a preference for five candidates each. The one with the least preference will get eliminated. With two AAP councillors coming back to the party, the alliance has an edge in the elections now.

With the help of three votes of Neha Musawat, Poonam and Gurcharan Singh Kala, who had quit AAP to join the BJP, the saffron party had won the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor. With the numbers on its side, the BJP had been eying no-confidence motion or persuade new Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor to jump the ship.

However, Neha Musawat and Poonam have not only spoiled its plans but also caused a huge embarrassment to the party. The duo, along with Kala, had joined the BJP in the presence of the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde and former Chandigarh party president Arun Sood in Delhi. Sood, who is also one of the contenders for the city Lok Sabha seat, is said to be facing the heat from the party.

Meanwhile, AAP said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghumman and Chandigarh party co-in charge Sunny Singh Ahluwalia made the two councillors’ “homecoming” possible and formally inducted both into the party again.

Neha, who is Ward Number 19 councillor, said, “While living together, discords occur at homes too. The same thing happened here also. But now, we have decided to forget all the things that happened in the past and returned home.”

Poonam, who is Ward Number 16 councillor, said, “I have no problem now and am very happy to return to the party.”

Meanwhile, the BJP’s official spokesperson, Sanjiv Rana, alleged, “AAP is threatening the MC staff as well as councillors, which forced the two councillors to jump the ship today. The gunda raj they have unleashed in Punjab has started in Chandigarh too.”

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