With 3 cross votes, BJP defeats Cong-AAP alliance in Chandigarh Mayoral Elections

In this election, BJP candidate Harpreet Kaur Babla emerged victorious over the Aam Aadmi Party candidate Prem Lata.

There are a total of 36 votes in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, which includes the vote of 35 councillors and one Member of Parliament (MP) from the territory. A total of 19 votes was needed for the majority.

The voting for the post of Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation started at around 11 am. During the voting, three councillors of the AAP-Congress alliance cross-voted against Prem Lata, carving a path of victory for the BJP.

Moments before the commencement of the election, an FIR was also registered against former mayor and AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar and his brother-in-law Rahul Chanalia on charges of corruption. This case is related to the alleged bribe in the recruitment of sanitation workers on a contract basis in the Municipal Corporation.

The complainant Ravi Birla lodged a complaint on the SSP window on Tuesday, in which he alleged that Kuldeep Kumar's brother-in-law Rahul took a bribe of Rs 1 lakh in the name of a job as a sanitation worker, but did not give the job.

According to Ravi, he had paid Rs 75,000 through online mediums and Rs 30,000 in cash. He has also presented 15 recordings and screenshots of online transactions in support of his complaint.

The crime branch of Chandigarh Police registered an FIR within 24 hours, which further heated up the election atmosphere.

On October 29, 2024, the Municipal Corporation passed the resolution to conduct voting by a "show of hands" instead of the previous practice of secret ballot, with AAP's Kuldeep Kumar presiding over as mayor.

On February 20, 2024, a division bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud declared Kuldeep Kumar, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate as the winner of the mayoral elections.

The Supreme Court had found that the then Returning Officer, Anil Masih had on January 30 deliberately defaced eight ballots that were cast in favour of Kuldeep Kumar so as to make them invalid. (ANI)