In a major development, Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal on Monday finally put an official stamp on joining forces with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to contest the upcoming Chandigarh Mayoral Elections. Chandigarh Mayoral Elections will take place on January 18, 2023, with the Congress-APP will be fighting against the BJP and the Akali Dal. Bansal while talking to a newswire confirmed that it was decided that the AAP would contest the Mayor's post while the Congress would contest the remaining two- Senior Deputy Mayor & Deputy Mayor posts.
"Lok Sabha elections are to come later; before that, the corporation elections have come. We have been discussing the same and it has been decided that AAP will contest for the post of mayor and Congress will contest for the post of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The result of this will be that our candidate from the INDIA bloc will be successful with a good majority," said Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Bansal further added, "On national issues, we know that there is agreement between Congress and AAP. Meetings have been held between different parties in which a consensus has been reached. At this time, everyone has gathered together to save the feelings of democracy," he added.
Talking about 2024 Chandigarh Mayoral polls, a total of 35 councillors will vote in the elections. At present BJP has the votes of 14 councillors and one MP. Whereas the Aa Aadmi Party has 13 councillors and Congress has 7 councillors. Shiromani Akali Dal has 1 councillor. 18 votes are required for the majority, of which BJP has a maximum of 15 votes. However, if the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress come together then they will have a total of 20 votes.
For those who haven't followed the Chandigarh Mayoral politics, in December 2021 MC elections, AAP had clinched 14 seats, the highest in the 35-member MC House. BJP had won 12, the Congress eight, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could manage only one seat. However, in May 2022, AAP councilor Taruna Mehta reportedly joined the Congress, reducing AAP’s numbers to 13.
On January 10, 2024, another AAP councilor, Lakhbir Singh Billu, joined the BJP, further denting its strength in the House. However, in a surprise move, on January 13, as the BJP was heading to file nominations for the mayoral poll, its councilor Gurcharanjit Singh Kala switched to AAP, sending shockwaves in the political arena.