The UT Administration has decided to conduct Chandigarh's mayor election by show of hands on January 29, the first time since 1996. With BJP and AAP-Congress alliance each holding 18 votes, the change aims to prevent cross-voting. All major parties have welcomed the transparency measure.
The election for Chandigarh's mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor will take place on January 29 through a show of hands. The BJP and AAP-Congress alliance are tied at 18 votes each, setting up a tense contest. The UT Administration's decision shifts from secret ballot to this method to curb cross-voting and ensure transparency.
Past secret ballots often saw councillors defy party lines, but the new system invites strict disciplinary action for defections. Senior BJP leader Sanjay Tandon called it a "fully transparent system to elect the mayor, leaving no room for doubt about how councillors cast their votes." AAP's Chandigarh unit president Vijay Pal Singh said the move resulted from "consistent efforts and repeated memorandums to the UT Administrator-cum-Punjab Governor," urging confidence in implementation.
Congress leader and former councillor Chander Mukhi Sharma recalled a 2024 resolution for show-of-hands voting passed under AAP-backed Mayor Kuldeep Kumar. He noted that despite the resolution, the demand persisted until MP Manish Tewari raised it on various platforms. Sharma hoped it would end cross-voting. In 2024, the Supreme Court declared Kumar mayor, overturning BJP's Manoj Sonkar's initial 16-12 win after finding eight invalid ballots were for Kumar.
The 2021 Municipal Corporation polls saw AAP win 14 seats, BJP 12, and Congress 8, with SAD's one joining AAP. BJP has since won three mayoral elections. In 2025, BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla secured 19 votes against AAP's Prem Lata's 17, despite BJP's 16 councillors to the alliance's 20. Recently, AAP councillors Poonam and Suman Sharma joined BJP, boosting it to 18; AAP now has 11, Congress 6. Congress MP Manish Tewari's vote evens it at 18-18.
Sharma cautioned against possible BJP horse-trading. BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies, noting comfort with any election mode and referencing EVMs introduced under Congress. AAP's Singh reiterated demands for an anti-defection law to prevent switches.
