BJP Gains Advantage in Chandigarh as Mayor Resigns, 3 AAP Councilors Cross Over - 2024-02-19

BJP Gains Advantage in Chandigarh as Mayor Resigns, 3 AAP Councilors Cross Over

Chandigarh: In a significant development ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on alleged irregularities in the Chandigarh mayoral election, BJP leader Manoj Sonkar resigned as mayor on Sunday night. This move comes after three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councilors - Poonam Devi, Neha Musawat, and Gurcharan Kala - joined the BJP, citing dissatisfaction with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

The BJP now has a majority of 19 votes in the 36-member house for the mayoral polls, while the AAP-Congress alliance is left with 17 votes. This gives the BJP a clear advantage in the upcoming election.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea filed by the AAP, which alleges that the BJP tampered with the postal ballots during the January 30 Chandigarh mayoral poll. The court had earlier expressed strong disapproval of the alleged defacing of ballot papers by the presiding officer, Anil Masih, and had directed him to appear before the court on February 19 to explain his conduct.

The resignation of the mayor and the defection of AAP councilors to the BJP have dealt a major setback to the AAP, which had hoped to gain control of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. The BJP, on the other hand, has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the upcoming mayoral election.

Keywords:

• Chandigarh mayoral election
• BJP gains advantage
• AAP setback
• Ballot tampering allegations
• Supreme Court hearing
• Presiding officer misconduct
• Political defections