Despite majority, Congress may miss Mayor's post in Kapurthala as AAP wins over 10 councillors overnight

Congress MLA and firebrand leader Rana Gurjeet Singh is understood to have suffered a major jolt overnight as the Aam Aadmi Party leadership has reportedly managed to bring in 10-15 of his councillors ahead of the Mayoral election on Wednesday afternoon.

The councillors have been taken away by the AAP leadership to Hoshiarpur, to an undisclosed location, since yesterday evening so that they cannot be contacted and brought back.

The AAP is understood to have planned to project Mansu, who was elected as a Congress councillor and has been Rana's right-hand man, as their Mayor when the election is held at Shalimar Bagh in the MC office here at 3 pm.

In the MC election held over a month ago, Congress councillors had won from 31 of 50 wards, securing a clear majority. Rana had been confident that his councillors would not defect and his team would retain power in the MC.

AAP, on the contrary, had won only in 11 wards. It has since then managed to pull three councillors each from SAD and BJP, besides an Independent. Having reached a figure of 18, it was still short of eight councillors. The party reportedly tried to intimidate some councillors or their husbands with departmental raids and later managed to take over 10 councillors away. Hoshiarpur MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal is understood to have made all the plans for AAP.

The move has clearly added to the worries of Rana Gurjeet Singh and the Congress, which is already reeling under rough weather. Rana has since then switched off his phone. Chabbewal too has not been responding to calls.