With the cancellation of Mohali Mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu’s membership as a councillor, all eyes are now on the next move of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress. Meanwhile, Sidhu is preparing to go to the court against the decision. An AAP councillor requesting anonymity told The Indian Express that they are in touch with the Congress councillors and are ensuring their support for the election of a new mayor. “Since Sidhu is not in the Congress, 34 councillors are against him. Some of them have even approached us, we are also working on this and will soon reach at a consensus,” the councillor added. He added that the AAP too is in a position to elect the mayor and are looking all options. In a 50-member House, Congress has 34 councillors, AAP has 10 and two are independent. The Congress had expelled Sidhu from the party after he joined the BJP. The Congress had also expelled Senior Deputy Mayor Amrik Somal and Deputy Mayor Kuljeet Bedi for the anti-party activities. Amarjeet Singh is in USA and will return on January 3. Sources said that former Cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, the elder brother of Amarjeet Sidhu, also held a meeting with the Congress councillors where at least 12 councillors were present. Punjab Local Bodies Department on December 30 cancelled the membership of Amarjeet Singh Sidhu alleging that he had violated the provisions of the Municipal Corporation (MC) Act. Mohali councillors on August 10 lodged a complaint to the principal secretary of Local Bodies Department, alleging that Sidhu had favoured a housing society, Amritpreet Cooperative Society Limited, of which he is a member. The department had issued a show cause notice to the mayor in September 2022, and asked him to file his reply within 15 days. In his reply on October 14, the mayor had called the complaint against him ‘politically motivated’ and sought time for a personal hearing in allegations.
