Triangular fight turns three-cornered win for BJP as party sweeps Chandigarh mayoral polls

While Joshi received 18 votes, AAP’s mayoral candidate Yogesh Dhingra secured 11 votes and Congress nominee Gurpreet Singh Gabi received seven votes.

After raising their hands, councillors also gave their verbal confirmation. The results were announced shortly after the completion of voting, formally ushering Joshi into office as Chandigarh’s new Mayor.

The election was held amid heightened political interest, as all three parties contested the mayoral post independently for the first time since the present House was constituted in 2022. With no pre-poll alliance, the outcome largely reflected the parties numerical strength in the Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Congress abstained from the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor polls.

Voting began at 11 am with a toss provision under the MC Act in case of a tie, following a notification issued by the Chandigarh Administrator. This marked a departure from the earlier practice of secret ballots and was introduced in the wake of controversies surrounding the 2024 mayoral election, with the aim of ensuring greater transparency.

The MC has 35 elected councillors, and the city’s Member of Parliament is also entitled to vote, bringing the total electorate to 36. A candidate required at least 19 votes to be elected Mayor.

The BJP, which has 18 councillors, fell just short of the halfway mark on its own but managed to secure enough support to ensure Joshi’s victory. The AAP with 11 councillors, and Congress with six and a vote of MP Manish Tewari as an ex-officio member of the civic body, failed to make a dent to the BJP’s tally.

Earlier in the day, speculation over possible cross-voting and informal understandings among opposition parties had added to the suspense.

Cong abstains from voting in Senior Deputy, Deputy Mayor polls

After casting their votes for the post of mayor in favour of Congress candidate Gurpreet Singh Gabi, Congress councillors walked out of the House, leading to their absence during the Senior Deputy Mayor’s election.

BJP councillor Jasmanpreet Singh was elected Senior Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh after securing 18 votes in the election. While AAP candidate Manaur Khan received 11 votes, Congress nominee Sachin Galav received no votes because Congress councillors and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari were not present in the House during the voting.

During the proceedings, when newly elected Mayor Joshi called out the name of Galav for voting, even he was not found present in the House.

Like other winners of her party, BJP’s Suman Sharma too secured 18 votes to be elected as the Deputy Mayor. AAP councillor Jaswinder Kaur, who was also in the fray, received 11 votes. AAP councillor Ramchandra Yadav, who had filed his nomination as an Independent candidate, withdrew from the contest moments before the voting process began.

The withdrawal came after Joshi invited candidates to announce any withdrawals before the start of the election for the deputy mayor’s post, after which Yadav formally withdrew his nomination.

Congress candidate Nirmala Devi received no votes, as Congress councillors abstained during the elections for the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

A sea of policemen was deployed outside the MC Corporation building this morning and the area was cordoned off, with restricted entry to the MC building at Sector 17, Chandigarh.

Before the election process, SSP Chandigarh Police along with area DSP reached at the MC building earlier in the day, and reviewed the preparations, focusing on law and order, security arrangements, deployment of officials and coordination among departments.