Next Chandigarh Mayor to be elected by show of hands

To curb cross-voting and tampering with votes, the mayoral elections of the Municipal Corporation (MC) will now be held by a show of hands, instead of the traditional secret ballot system.

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Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria has approved an amendment to Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996. Going forward, the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor will all be elected through show of hands.

Kataria said the new system will bring greater transparency in the election process and make the role of elected representatives more clear and accountable. He expressed hope that this change will help improve the functioning and governance of the Municipal Corporation and will further strengthen trust in democratic processes.

Notably, the mayoral elections held in January last year were mired in controversy after nominated councillor and presiding officer Anil Masih was allegedly caught tampering with the votes on camera.

The amendment was first passed in the House meeting of the Municipal Corporation. It was proposed under the legal powers granted by Section 398(2) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 (as extended to the Union Territory of Chandigarh under the Chandigarh UT Act, 1994). The proposal was then sent to the Administrator for approval, which has now been formally granted.

On October 30, 2024, the MC House passed a resolution that the method of show of hands be used for the future mayoral elections, instead of the provision of secret ballot.

According to the agenda tabled in the House, “To facilitate a transparent and equitable election process for the coming years, it is proposed that the existing Regulations of 1996 be amended. It is recommended that the election to the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor be conducted by a show of hands. So, it is requested to amend Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh MC (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996, and the elections be held by show of hands.”

The UT Administrator had directed the officials concerned to initiate the amendment process in the wake of repeated complaints from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress alleging the lack of transparency in the election process.

During the mayoral elections held on January 30, 2024, presiding officer Anil Masih was caught on camera allegedly invalidating eight votes cast in favour of the AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar. The BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar was declared the winner.

However, on a petition filed by an AAP councillor, who alleged wrongdoing during the mayoral polls, the Supreme Court ruled that the vote tampering was deliberate and overturned the result, declaring Kuldeep the rightful winner.

After watching the video, the apex court had said prima facie, the returning officer was defacing the ballot papers.

Parties welcome move, seek anti-defection law

The Congress has welcomed the move to junk secret ballot in favour of electing the Mayor by a show of hands. The city unit president, HS Lucky, thanked the Administrator for the “bold” step, saying the party and MP Manish Tewari had been pushing for the switch for a long time.

“This will pave the way for cleaner politics and help in enhancing the image of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh and its councillors, who have constantly been facing charges of horse trading,” Lucky said, further calling for an anti-defection law to be implemented for the Municipal Corporation House as well.

Jatinder Pal Malhotra, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) local unit, also supported the decision, saying that the move was a welcome change.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chandigarh president Vijay Pal Singh, party spokesperson and councillor Yogesh Dhingra also hailed the decision, saying it will bring transparency to the election-process.

They said democracy was “murdered” in the last mayoral election and hurt the image of the city.

Presently, no political party is in the position to elect a Mayor on its own in the House. A party requires 19 votes to elect the Mayor, senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the 35-elected member House.

At this point, the BJP has 16 councillors, the Congress six and the AAP 13. The Chandigarh MP also has one vote.

Former Mayor Subhash Chawla said the Administration must consider comprehensive changes in the Act, whereas Social activist RK Garg added that the amendment was not complete without implementing the anti-defection law. He said if a councillor of one party raises hand for the candidate of other party, no action can be taken against them.

Since the formation of the Municipal Corporation in 1996, mayoral elections had been conducted through secret ballots.