Chandigarh to get new Mayor today

The Municipal Corporation (MC) House will witness a direct contest between the BJP and the AAP-Congress alliance for the posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor tomorrow.

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The BJP has fielded Harpreet Kaur Babla against AAP’s Prem Lata for the post of Mayor. Bimala Dubey and Lakhbir Singh Billu are the saffron party candidates for the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

The Congress, adhering to its pact with AAP, has fielded Jasbir Singh Bunty and Taruna Mehta for the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively.

The election is likely to see a tough contest, with the alliance appearing to have the upper hand. Together, they have 20 votes in the 35-member MC House —13 votes of AAP, six of the Congress and one vote of ex-officio member MP Manish Tewari. The BJP holds 16 votes and is relying on cross-voting or defections to achieve the 19-vote mark needed for a majority.

The election will be held at 11 am in the Assembly Hall of the MC office in Sector 17. The results will be declared soon after the voting concludes.

After Congress Councillor Gurbax Rawat from Ward 27 joined the BJP on January 27, the AAP and the Congress moved their councillors out of the city. They are likely to return to the city hours before the polling.

Sources said all AAP councillors were putting up at a lodge in Ropar district, while those of the Congress are staying in Ludhiana.

The BJP councillors today had a lunch at Lake Club.

This mayoral election is significant as it is the fourth year of the five-year rotational system. The post of Mayor is reserved for a woman councillor this year.

Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav today chaired a meeting at the MC office to review the poll arrangements.

He spoke with senior officials of the MC, Administration and the police, and emphasised the importance of a fair, transparent and efficient election process.

Present during the meeting were former Judge Justice Jaishree Thakur, observer appointed by the Supreme Court; Ramneek Singh Bedi. presiding officer; Amandeep Singh Bhatti, Additional Deputy Commissioner; Gurinder Singh Sodhi, Joint Commissioner-I, and others.

The police will barricade the three roads leading to the MC office. Sufficient police force will be deployed for maintaining law and order during the election.

District Magistrate Nishant Kumar Yadav, exercising his powers under Sector 163 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, has prohibited the gathering of five or more persons in and around the MC building within 100 metres from January 29 to 30.

Pens, pencils not allowed in hall

The mayoral elections will be held by secret ballot. Voters will not be allowed to show the front of ballot paper to any person while casting vote. No mobile phones, camera, weapons, electronic gadgets, pens and pencils will be allowed in the assembly hall of the MC building during the election process.