Chandigarh
The Chandigarh administration on Thursday fixed January 10 as the date for the next mayoral election.
Deputy commissioner (DC) Mandip Singh Brar, who convenes this election, said January 10 has been finalised for the mayoral election, but a detailed schedule, including the last date of filing nomination, will be released on Friday.
As the mayoral seat is reserved for a female candidate this time, race for the coveted post is set to get intensified within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that has six such councillors eligible for the top post.
The main contest, however, is between Heera Negi, Sunita Dhawan and Raj Bala Malik, all of whom have already started lobbying for the post.
2017 MAYOR EYEING ANOTHER CHANCE
Asha Jaswal, who had held the mayoral post in 2017, is eyeing another chance, while other two female candidates — Chanderwati Shukla and Farmilla — too are laying claim on the seat.
The new mayor will replace incumbent Rajesh Kalia, who was elected on January 18 this year.
WILL BJP FACE REVOLT THIS TIME TOO?
Of the 26 elected councillors, the BJP has a majority with 20 councillors.
The Congress has five councillors and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which is in an alliance with the BJP, has one.
Despite having two-third majority, the saffron party had to face major humiliation in the last mayoral elections when the party’s official candidate, Rajesh Kalia, barely managed to win the election after one of the councillors, Satish Kainth, fought fiercely against him. He later joined the Congress.
‘WOMEN CANDIDATES DIVIDED INTO CAMPS’
If insiders are to be believed, such tug of war cannot be ruled out this time too when aspirations are high among all female candidates, who are divided into different camps.
While Raj Bala Malik is said to be close to Chandigarh member of parliament (MP) Kirron Kher, Sunita Dhawan owes allegiance to city BJP chief Sanjay Tandon.
Heera Negi, meanwhile, is trying to come out as a neutral candidate by maintaining cordial relations with both these groups.
Negi was party’s choice in the 2015 mayoral election when the BJP was not in majority.
She often claimed that she had a chance to win the election, but her own party members “ditched” her by not voting for her.
Malik had been the mayor once in 2013, when she was in the Congress. She had later switched sides.
Dhawan is a fresh face and has not been nominated by the party in any election so far.
‘WHAT HAPPENED IN LAST POLLS WILL NOT BE REPEATED’
Chandigarh BJP president Sanjay Tandon said, “All ranks in the party are working together just like the Lok Sabha elections. What happened in the last mayoral elections will not be repeated. People have realised that small-time bickering neither serves the interests of the party nor the city.”
He said the BJP will soon start consultation process to select a mayoral candidate.
HOW IS A MAYOR ELECTED IN UT?
The Chandigarh mayor holds a one-year term and is chosen every year from the elected representatives of the general house.
A candidate needs at least 14 votes to become a mayor since the current house has a strength of 26 members. Besides, one vote is that of MP Kher’s, the ex-officio member of the house.
The house also has nine nominated councillors, but their voting right was taken away by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2017. Their appeal to restore their voting right is pending before the Supreme Court.
