BJP rebels sweep top mayoral posts

CHANDIGARH, Dec 23: The ruling BJP-SAD alliance today came in for a severe jolt in the city when its official candidates lost all the thr...

CHANDIGARH, Dec 23: The ruling BJP-SAD alliance today came in for a severe jolt in the city when its official candidates lost all the three posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to the party rebels in the fray in a keen contest.

The youngest among the MC councillors, BJP rebel Kewal Krishan Adiwal was elected to the post of mayor by defeating his nearest Congress rival, Kamlesh by two votes. Kanhaya Lal Sharma was elected senior deputy mayor as he won against Shiromani Akali Dal nominee Mohinder Singh by two votes and Bachan Singh, another BJP rebel, made it to the deputy mayor8217;s post. He defeated the official BJP contender, Des Raj Tandon by three votes and polled 13 votes.

These seats fell vacant as their term expires on December 23 every year as per the MC Act. The post of mayor was reserved for a SC candidate this year.

Congress councillors, however, did not participate in the election for the post of deputy mayor. The Congress candidate fared well for post of mayor and polled ten votes in the first round of elections, forcing a second round of elections. In a 29-member House of the Corporation, there are four Congress councillors, one SJP, 9 nominated, 5 BJP, and 10 BJP rebel.

BJP dissidents owing allegiance to the local BJP MP, Satya Pal Jain were apparently in high spirits for the contest before entering the election hall. They managed to sway the votes of former mayor, Prem Sagar Jain and Senior Deputy Mayor Kamla Sharma of BJP in their favour along with four other nominated councillors. Two nominated councillors, abstained from the entire election process.

Elections for mayor and senior deputy mayor were conducted in two rounds following triangular contest among Congress, BJP and its rebel contestants. But for deputy mayor, there was a direct contest between BJP and BJP rebel as Congress had not fielded its candidate for the post.

Interestingly, soon after winning the mayor8217;s election with much political hobnobbing, Adiwal appealed to the councillors to sink their differences and work in unison for the welfare of the city and its residents.