Year to go, Cong gears up for Chandigarh MC poll

The Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee has appointed coordinators for all 35 wards of the city ahead of the Municipal Corporation elections, which are due in December 2026. Though senior leaders are not revealing on record if the party will fight the elections in alliance with the Aam Adami Party (AAP), the appointments of coordinators indicate that it is preparing to go solo.

President of the Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee HS Lucky and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari held a meeting with the coordinators at the Congress Bhawan, Sector 35, here today.

Lucky said these coordinators would be responsible for appointing booth committees in their respective wards, ensuring that the party structure reached every household and voter.

Both leaders motivated the coordinators to work with dedication, discipline and commitment to strengthen the party’s presence across the city.

Tewari said the elections were not won merely in campaigns; they were won through continuous engagement with the people at the grassroots. The coordinators have a historic responsibility to rebuild the faith of Chandigarh’s citizens in the Congress, he added.

“Our city deserves a Municipal Corporation that addresses real issues, be it water, sanitation, roads or urban planning, rather than indulging in political theatrics,” he said, adding that the Congress is fully committed to giving Chandigarh a clean, accountable and visionary local governance system.

Lucky said the appointment of the coordinators in all 35 wards was the first step in building a strong and transparent organisational structure for the coming MC elections. When asked about the possibility of fighting the elections solo, he said at present, their alliance with AAP was doing fine. Both parties are jointly raising various issues, but we have to prepare ourselves for all eventualities.

Both the Congress and AAP fought the last Lok Sabha election here in alliance. Their candidate Manish Tewari defeated BJP’s Sanjay Tandon. However, friction between the two parties has been growing over the past few months, with certain leaders from both sides openly questioning the alliance. Their relationship also strained after losing the Chandigarh Mayoral election in January.

At a meeting held with senior party leader Manish Sisodia recently, certain AAP councillors had demanded that the alliance with the Congress be put to an end.

Contesting the MC elections for the first time, AAP had won 14 seats in 2021 to become the single largest party in the 35-seat MC House. The BJP won in 12 wards and the Congress in eight wards. The SAD could secure only one seat.