Mayoral poll: Our alliance with AAP intact, will take on BJP together: Congress

Clearing the air amid rumours of differences with the alliance partner, the city Congress has stated that their coalition with AAP is intact and they will together take on the BJP in the coming mayoral elections.

Congress president HS Lucky said, “Our alliance is intact. We are yet to decide on the candidates, but all councillors and party leaders affirmed their support for AAP to fight against the BJP.”

City AAP president Vijay Pal said talks were going on with the Congress.

A meeting of Congress councillors was held today under the leadership of city MP Manish Tewari and Lucky at the latter’s residence here.

According to Rajiv Sharma, chief spokesperson for the Chandigarh Congress, the agenda of the meeting was to deliberate on various knotty problems being faced by the city in the light of anti-Chandigarh stand consistently being taken by the local BJP and the Administration. While addressing the councillors, Tewari and Lucky made some suggestions and asked the councillors to work day and night to serve the people of the city, who have high hopes from the Congress.

The Congress spokesperson said the meeting remained confined to discussing the crucial issues facing the city. Besides the Congress councillors, Yadwinder Mehta and Dilawar Singh, who are also office-bearers of the party, also attended the meeting. They are spouses of two women councillors.

Another follow-up meeting of senior office-bearers of the party is scheduled to be held tomorrow at Congress Bhawan in Sector 35, where the party activists will hold further deliberations on the agenda discussed in today’s meeting, said Sharma. In the 35-member Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House. It also has an ex-officio member, Congress MP Manish Tewari, who has voting right. The elections to the post of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be held on January 24.

Nominated Councillor Dr Ramneek Singh Bedi has been appointed presiding officer for the poll.

The elected councillors can file their nominations till January 20. Meanwhile, AAP has demanded that the election be held by show of hands instead of secret ballot, and also moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard.

The last mayoral elections were mired in controversy, after presiding officer Anil Masih was accused of tampering and rejecting the votes of the AAP-Congress coalition and declaring BJP’s Manoj Sonkar as mayor on January 30 last year. Later, the Supreme Court overturned the result, declaring AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar as mayor.