The mayoral election in Chandigarh is scheduled for January 24, 2025. The election, conducted through C, will be closely contested between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-Congress combine and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Despite demands from AAP and Congress for a show of hands, the election will proceed with secret ballots.
Election details and process
Scheduled to take place at 11 am on January 24 in the Assembly Hall of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the election will be overseen by presiding officer Ramneek Singh Bedi, officials confirmed. Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav announced that the results will be declared immediately following the vote.
Unity in the INDIA bloc
Deputy Commissioner Yadav reviewed arrangements, including security and logistical preparations, at the MC office on Tuesday. Security measures will include the installation of CCTV cameras and the deployment of police personnel to ensure smooth proceedings. Media will also be allowed to cover the election process, ensuring transparency.
Despite a legal battle surrounding last year’s mayoral election, the AAP-Congress alliance has reaffirmed their unity. Congress president HS Lucky stated, “Our alliance is intact, and we have started official meetings to discuss our strategies and candidates.”
Significance of rotation system
As per Chandigarh’s five-year mayoral rotation system, the next mayor will be a woman. In the current race, AAP has fielded three prominent candidates—Prem Lata, Anju Katyal, and Jaswinder Kaur.
Prem Lata is reportedly leading the contest. While Tarun Mehta from Congress may contest, the alliance is likely to back AAP’s candidate.
The BJP, on the other hand, is considering Harpreet Kaur Babla and former mayor Sarabjeet Kaur as its top contenders for the mayoral post.
INDIA bloc advantage
The AAP-Congress combine holds a clear advantage in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) with 21 votes—13 from AAP, seven from Congress, and one ex-officio vote from MP Manish Tewari. Conversely, the BJP has only 15 votes, relying on cross-voting or defection from INDIA bloc councillors to shift the balance.
AAP challenges secret ballot
Following the announcement of the poll date, AAP Chandigarh co-in-charge SS Ahluwalia expressed dissatisfaction with the secret ballot process.
He criticised the decision, stating, “The BJP has once again conspired with government officials to kill democracy in Chandigarh. The tenure of current mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor is going to end on February 19, 2025. But by putting pressure on government officials, the tenure of the mayor was reduced to 11 months, whereas according to the law, it is one year.”
Ahluwalia further argued that the secret ballot election raised concerns about fairness, referencing last year’s controversy, where presiding officer Anil Masih had invalidated Dhalor’s votes.
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