Chandigarh MC election: 12 independents form Azad Front

An “Azad Front” has taken shape with 12 independent candidates, mainly rebels from the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), coming together on a common platform ahead of the Chandigarh municipal corporation election.

Their target is not just upstaging the two parties in the municipal polls, but also put up a joint candidate for the Lok Sabha polls that are a couple of years away.

Narinder Pal Chaudhary, a BJP rebel candidate contesting as an independent from Ward No. 26, said: “We will be helping each other in the MC elections, as we are taking on three major parties with big pockets. The support can be in terms of mobilising crowd support and sharing volunteers for each other’s campaign. So, if a contestant has Purvanchal voters in his constituency, he will bring them to the aid of the other independent candidate who needs their support in his ward.”

The Congress, BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are locked in a tight three-cornered fight. All three are facing a challenge from a number of rebel candidates.

The Congress has to face the challenge from its former members who joined the AAP and SAD and got the ticket after their claims were rejected by the parent party. In the BJP, while three rebel candidates withdrew their candidature, but some candidates with a strong support base are still threatening the party’s official nominees’ winning chances.

Now, with the independent candidates getting better organised, the parties are in for a stiffer challenge.

Former Congress general secretary Shashi Shankar Tiwari, who resigned from the party after being denied the party ticket, said: “So far we have 12 candidates who have agreed (to join the group). But we are trying to bring more candidates on our platform. The aim is to offer city’s residents an option beyond these corrupt established parties, which have failed to deliver on their promises for so long. Both parties have been gripped by dynastic politics.”

Tewari, who is also the Purvanchal Vikas Mahasangh president, said: “In the immediate future, we will work to ensure victory of independent candidates. For this, we are developing a common strategy, and a common manifesto is also under discussion. But our ultimate aim is to get an Azad Front candidate to fight the Lok Sabha election in 2024.”

Notably, Tiwari himself is not contesting the election, but is coordinating the activities of the Azad Front.

Tiwari named Krishan Lal (Ward No. 3), Manpreet Kaur (9), Veeru (35), Prempal Chahuan (15), Harvansh Singh (29), Sushila Pathak (10), Kripanand Thakur (20), Asha Rani (7), Mukesh Goyal (32), Sohan Singh Mauli (8), Narendra Chaudhary (26) and Parmajit Kaur (4) as the independent candidates who have come together so far.

Meanwhile, Kripanand Thakur (Ward No. 20), a rebel BJP candidate, said: “We are in constant talks over different issues and helping each other. But the priority is to win the MC polls in our wards. The future course of action will only be decided after these elections. Common strategies for the grouping are still to be developed.”