The high-stakes mayoral election in Chandigarh that was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 18 January, has been postponed to 6 February.
The election was deferred as Anil Masih, the presiding officer that had been nominated to oversee the election, fell ill and had to be hospitalised, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
However, the last-minute development has not gone down well with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress.
The mayoral race in Chandigarh has been widely anticipated because it will be the first time that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will go head-to-head with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – with just months to go for the nation-wide Lok Sabha elections.
The mayor of Chandigarh is elected based on secret ballots that are cast by the elected councillors of the union territory, according to a report by Times of India.
This year, the mayoral seat is reportedly reserved for a person from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. Since the term of Chandigarh's mayor is one year, these polls take place annually.
For the past two years, the BJP has secured victory in the Chandigarh mayoral polls. Meanwhile, councillors from the Congress party had reportedly abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023.
Security has been tightened outside the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation office on Thursday, in light of the mayoral elections.
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Security personnel stand guard near the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation ahead of mayoral polls in Chandigarh on Thursday, 18 January.
(Photo: PTI)
"600 personnel of the Chandigarh Police have been deployed. Besides that, the Rapid Action Force of the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) has also been deployed. All preparations have been made to maintain law and order here," Senior Superintendent of Police (Chandigarh) Kanwardeep Kaur was quoted as saying by PTI.
'Democracy-Phobia', 'Will Move Court': AAP-Congress
"The BJP was not ready to face defeat and they intentionally postponed the elections. If BJP would have believed in democracy, they would have requested DC to change the presiding officer. This is end of democracy. We will now move to court," former MP and senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal was quoted as saying by PTI.
The Congress is contesting the Chandigarh mayoral election in alliance with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
"The 'Operation Lotus' has failed in Chandigarh. They (BJP) can sense their defeat. They lost morally when they did not even turn up (to cast vote). We (AAP and Congress) all are here to cast our votes. This shows that the BJP cannot accept their defeat," Chandigarh Congress chief H S Lucky was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Among the 36 councillors of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, 14 of them are from the BJP, 13 from AAP, and seven from Congress.
One councillor belongs to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), while the Lok Sabha MP from Chandigarh is also allowed to cast a vote as an ex-officio member.
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