The BJP secured the Chandigarh Mayor post as Saurabh Joshi won with 18 votes in a 36-member House. This victory marks the BJP’s fourth consecutive win. Additionally, BJP’s Suman Sharma and Jasmanpreet Singh were elected as Deputy Mayor and Senior Deputy Mayor, respectively, each receiving 18 votes.
In the recent mayoral elections, AAP’s Yogesh Dhingra garnered 11 votes, while Congress candidate Gurpreet Singh Gabbi received seven votes. Previously, the Congress and AAP, under the INDIA bloc, had contested together. However, this time, they ran independently, with the BJP emerging victorious.
The BJP, with 18 councillors, lacks a clear majority in the 35-member House. AAP holds 11 seats, and Congress has six councillors. Despite this, the BJP has clinched the mayoral seat three times in the last four years, often relying on cross-voting and member defections.
The election process for the mayor this time involved a show of hands, a departure from the previous secret ballot system. This change was implemented to prevent cross-voting and ballot tampering, following an amendment in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation regulations last year.
