AAP sinks as cross-voting helps BJP sail to victory in Chandigarh mayoral polls

In a politically charged contest on Thursday, simmering tensions within both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, coupled with the fractured unity of their alliance, allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reclaim the Chandigarh mayoral seat that it had lost last year after eight straight years of control.

Harpreet Kaur Babla, 60, secured a narrow but decisive win over AAP-Congress candidate Prem Lata, 46, by a razor-thin margin of just two votes in the 35-member municipal corporation.

Despite a numerical advantage, the AAP-Congress alliance was plagued by differences and seething internal rifts within both parties, undermining their leaders’ efforts and paving the way for the BJP to exploit the cracks within.

The INDIA bloc, boasting 20 votes—13 from AAP, six from Congress and MP Manish Tewari’s ex-officio vote—was expected to deliver a comfortable victory. However, three crucial cross-votes from within the alliance allowed Harpreet to secure 19 votes, edging out Prem Lata, who managed 17. With the total 36 votes, 19 were needed to win.

Harpreet’s win marked a striking comeback for the BJP, which had suffered embarrassing defeats in Chandigarh the previous year—first in the mayoral race and later in the Lok Sabha elections. The victory also injected fresh momentum in its campaign ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly elections.

The election was conducted via secret ballot under the watchful eye of retired Punjab and Haryana high court judge justice Jaishree Thakur, appointed by the Supreme Court to supervise the process. All 36 votes were deemed valid.

Congress nets senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor seats

In a twist of irony, while the AAP-Congress alliance fell short on the mayoral seat, the Congress managed to secure the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor positions.

According to their agreement, AAP had fielded its candidate for the mayor’s post, while the Congress contested for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

As it happened, both Congress candidates Jasbir Singh Bunty and Taruna Mehta triumphed in the respective races.

Bunty, who got 19 votes, defeated BJP’s Bimala Dubey by two votes, while Mehta also won by two votes, beating BJP’s Lakhbir Singh Billu.

Interestingly, BJP’s senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor candidates received 17 votes each, meaning that one councillor from the AAP-Congress alliance again cross-voted in both elections.

Despite alliance, AAP emerges as biggest loser

The outcome of Thursday’s election was particularly embarrassing for AAP, which failed to win a single seat in the election, despite joining hands with the Congress — underscoring deepening crisis within the alliance.

Within AAP, the decision to field Prem Lata as their mayoral candidate sparked dissent, particularly from female councillors such as Anju Katyal, Poonam and Jaswinder Kaur, who had themselves been vying for the position. Even Congress councillors expressed opposition to Lata’s candidacy, intensifying discord in the alliance.

The late-hour announcement of Lata’s candidacy set off a wave of resistance within AAP, with key female councillors and their spouses stepping back from the election process. Notably, Anju Katyal and Poonam chose not to accompany Lata for the filing of nominations, signalling discontent. Neha, another councillor, appeared disengaged during the process, further highlighting divisions within the party.

Party insiders disclosed that several dissenting leaders—including Katyal, Poonam, Jasbir Singh Laddi, Manauwar and Jaswinder Kaur—had distanced themselves from AAP councillors in Rupnagar following the nominations. Laddi and Poonam had also been skipping party meetings over the last few days, and had also refused to accept party office-bearer posts.

Congress, too, faced internal strife, with some councillors opposing Jasbir Singh Bunty’s nomination for senior deputy mayor. Adding to party’s woes, the BJP, which had 15 members, boosted its strength to 16 after securing the support of three-time Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat, a move that fuelled speculation of further defections from the Opposition alliance.

Despite these fractures, both AAP and Congress continued to project a unified front publicly. However, party insiders revealed a different reality, with delays in joint meetings, separate accommodations for candidates, and increasing instances of independent decision-making over the past year resulting in differences.

>>Cross-voting leaves fractured AAP-Cong alliance on ventilator