The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today won the Chandigarh mayoral election defeating the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by just one vote. BJP municipal councillor Sarabjit Kaur today became the new mayor Chandigarh Municipal Corporation mayor defeating AAP candidate Anju Katyal. After the results were declared, the AAP alleged foul play alleging that the BJP colluded with the Congress and the SAD to defeat the BJP.
Out of the total 36 votes, 28 were polled while seven Congress councillors and the lone Shiromani Akali Dal councillor abstained. BJP’s Kaur bagged 14 votes while Katyal got 13, and one was declared invalid. While the BJP had 12 votes, municipal councillor from the Congress Harpreet Kaur Babla had joined the BJP days after the poll results were declared taking the BJP’s tally to 13. Since the Chandigarh MP is an ex-officio member in the municipal corporation with a voting right, the BJP’s rally rose to 14, equal to the AAP.
After the result was declared, AAP councillors created a ruckus in the House and police were called in to remove them. AAP leader Raghav Chadha said, “Congress has fraudulently made BJP’s mayor by making its councillor join the BJP through hidden alliance. I want to tell the people of Punjab that Congress-BJP-SAD will form a hidden alliance to stop Arvind Kejriwal in Punjab elections as well.”
AAP Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh said that there is an illicit relationship between the BJP and Congress. “I had said that there is an illicit relationship between Congress and BJP. Congress councillors directly joined BJP after AAP reduced the BJP’s seats. Even after that, when their vote count was less, they misused the bureaucracy to declare AAP’s valid vote as invalid and murdered democracy to make mayor of the BJP,” he claimed.
The results for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation was declared on December 27 which threw up a hung House, with the AAP winning 14 of the 35 wards and the BJP 12. The Congress had bagged eight seats while the Shiromani Akali Dal got one.
Financial Express is now on Telegram. 
