Chandigarh mayor a no-show, elections of senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor now on March 4
BJP councillors and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher had to wait in the MC’s assembly hall for over two hours, in a stark reminder of the scenes that had played out on January 18, the first date fixed by the UT for the conduct of the mayoral polls, when only AAP-Congress councillors were seen in attendance while BJP members and presiding officer Anil Masih were conspicuous by their absence.
The Chandigarh administration was forced to reschedule the elections of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor for March 4 as mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, who owes allegiance to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), skipped Tuesday’s meeting called for the conduct of these polls.
BJP councillors and city MP Kirron Kher had to wait in the MC’s assembly hall for over two hours, in a stark reminder of the scenes that had played out on January 18, the first date fixed by the UT for the conduct of the mayoral polls, when only AAP-Congress councillors were seen in attendance while BJP members and presiding officer Anil Masih were conspicuous by their absence.
On Tuesday, the BJP councillors had arrived at 10 am, the scheduled time for the polls, and waited for two hours as uncertainty prevailed over the fate of the polls given the mayor’s absence. Neither the mayor nor the councillors of AAP and Congress turned up, indicating that the mayor’s absence was “due to political reasons and not personal ones as was being cited by the combine earlier”.
The BJP also kept the three councillors, who had recently jumped ship from the AAP and joined the saffron party, away from Tuesday’s events, in a move clearly aimed at preventing them from coming in contact with the opposition leaders.
Ever since the polls were notified on January 10, it has run into multiple controversies. First, the polls were rescheduled from January 18 to February 6 by UT but later held on January 30 after HC’s intervention. But what transpired on January 30 hit national headlines as the AAP-Congress combine accused presiding officer Anil Masih of vote-tampering. After counting of votes, Masih, a BJP leader, had declared Sonkar, the saffron party’s candidate, as the winner even as the Congress-AAP alliance had 20 votes in the House while the BJP had 16 on that day. Masih had declared eight votes polled to Dhalor as invalid, which resulted in a huge controversy as he was caught on live cameras defacing the eight votes. Masih now faces perjury proceedings in the Supreme Court.
However, the numbers in the MC House have now changed in BJP’s favour. With three AAP councillors switching their loyalties to the saffron party, the BJP now has a majority in the House with 19 votes. AAP-Congress alliance, which has 17 votes, has been trying to bring back the turncoats. This is believed to be the reason behind the delay on the part of the alliance in holding these polls. The MC has 35 votes of councillors and one MP vote.
HC imposes restrictions on March 4 polls
The high court took up the plea from Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi, who were candidates of the Congress for the posts of senior deputy and deputy mayor respectively, challenging the DC’s decision to announce elections without mayor’s consultation. Along with law officers, deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh himself remained present in the court during the proceedings. By afternoon, the UT agreed to withdraw the notification for these polls and gave a fresh schedule of March 4 polls at 2pm. Now, the nomination process would begin on February 28. The mayor has also been directed by the high court to assume charge on Wednesday morning. The court has directed Dhalor to ensure he associates himself with the poll process. The entire process of elections shall be videographed and councillors, who would come for voting, shall not be accompanied by any supporters or by the security personnel belonging to any other state, the court ordered, further directing that the Chandigarh police would also ensure that neither any ruckus nor any untoward incident takes place in or around the premises of the Chandigarh municipal corporation office.
Quotes:
“Dhalor has intentionally delayed the swearing in ceremony and the polls. How can he attend the Rose Festival as a mayor if he can’t preside over the polls. He should take charge and work for the betterment of the city,” Jatinder Pal Malhotra, BJP president.
“Congress always demanded proper procedure to be followed for the polls. We are ready for elections but it should be held according to protocols.” HS Lucky, Congress president
“We will abide by the court directions and the mayor will formally take the seat on Wednesday. The elections should be conducted in a fair manner and officers should follow proper procedures.” Dr SS Ahluwalia, Chandigarh AAP co-in-charge.