BJP's Sarabjit Kaur elected Chandigarh mayor; AAP cries foul

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 8

The Bharatiya Janata Party won all three top posts in the mayoral elections held days after Chandigarh’s municipal polls. 

BJP’s Sarabjit Kaur was elected the mayor, and Dalip Sharma and Anup Gupta became her deputies on Saturday. 

In the 36-member Municipal Corporation House, 28 votes were polled as the Congress and SAD abstained from voting.

The BJP got 14 votes, AAP 13 and one vote was deemed invalid.

BJP’s Dalip Sharma beat AAP’s Prem lata by two votes to win the senior deputy mayor’s position. Sharma polled 15 votes against Lata’s 13.

BJP’s Anup Gupta won through a draw of lots after votes were tied 14:14 between him and AAP’s Ram Chander Yadav.  

 AAP councillors created a ruckus after the counting alleging that the BJP had been favoured in the counting process.

AAP councillors tried to stop the new mayor from addressing the House. Then, BJP councillors surrounded her chair. Later, marshals were called and they removed both set of councillors. 

Meanwhile, AAP president Prem Garg entered the Well of the House and was taken out by the marshals.

This comes despite the fact that AAP had emerged as the single largest party in the elections held last month.

AAP won 14 seats against BJP’s 12, Congress’s 8 and SAD’s 1.