BJP's Kuljeet Singh Sandhu Wins Chandigarh Senior Deputy Mayor Polls With 19 Votes

BJP's Kuljeet Singh Sandhu has won the election for the senior Deputy Mayor of Chandigarh with 19 votes

BJP's Kuljeet Singh Sandhu has won the election for the senior Deputy Mayor of Chandigarh with 19 votes

BJP's Kuljeet Singh Sandhu has won the election for the senior Deputy Mayor of Chandigarh with 19 votes as the AAP and Congress managed to get 16 votes and one vote was declared invalid. Meanwhile, the saffron party's Rajinder Sharma defeated Congress candidate Nirmala Devi to clinch the deputy mayor's post with 19 votes of the total 36 polled. The BJP had nominated the same candidates last time as well.

 

Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar said, "The whole problem is not of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the problem lies in the coalition of AAP and Congress in Punjab. They are misleading the people of Punjab... BJP has numbers. But whatever it is should happen systematically."

 

The BJP has 17 councillors in the 35-member municipal house and the saffron party's number increased from 14 to 17 after three AAP councillors jumped ship on February 19. Meanwhile, the AAP has 10 members and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor.

BJP leader and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher also has voting rights as an ex-officio member of the corporation.

The Chandigarh mayoral poll results were overturned by the Supreme Court on February 20, nullifying the victory of BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar. Following this decision, Kuldeep Kumar from the AAP-Congress alliance was declared as the new mayor. Kumar, an AAP councillor, has taken charge of the mayoral duties. The previous election saw Sonkar defeating Kumar on January 30.

Amid allegations of ballot tampering, AAP and Congress councillors boycotted the elections for the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor positions. 

In the upcoming election for the deputy mayor, BJP has nominated Sharma as their candidate, while Congress has put forward Nirmala Devi