With just a week left for the mayor elections, the city BJP is all set to declare its candidate on Tuesday. As the BJP enjoys majority in the Municipal Corporation general house with 20 of its councillors, lobbying has begun to be the contender for the post. While on the one hand city BJP chief Sanjay Tandon’s close aide and councillor Arun Sood is trying hard again for the ticket, former MP and leader Satya Pal Jain’s aide Davesh Moudgil too is in the fray. Sood was the mayor in 2016 while Moudgil was the senior deputy mayor during the same tenure. Sources said that the Tandon group is even trying that if a consensus is not reached on Sood’s name, other councillors, Shakti Devshali and Rajesh Gupta, who are also close to them, may be fielded in order to stop Moudgil from getting the ticket. Both Sood and Moudgil have support of seven councillors. Moudgil has the support of MP Kirron Kher. A senior BJP leader on condition of anonymity said, “If any of Sood or Moudgil gets the ticket, then there are chances of cross-voting within the party which will in turn bring bad name. That is why a different name is also being considered so that the councillor has support from all the sides.” The nominations for the mayor elections would be filed on January 3. While the Congress has just four councillors in the 36-member House, the BJP has 20 and one is from SAD and the other independent member. MP Kirron Kher is the ex-officio member of the House. There are nine nominated councillors who do not have voting rights. On Sunday, state general secretary (organisation) Dinesh Kumar had come and spoken to all the councillors to know who they would like to support. Incharge of Chandigarh BJP Prabhat Jha and Dinesh Kumar will reach Chandigarh on Tuesday and the name will be declared in the evening. Jha, Kumar to be present Sources said that to ensure that cross-voting is not done, both Jha and Kumar would be present at the Municipal Corporation’s assembly hall on the day of the mayoral polls.
