Thu Jan 30 09:55:28 IST 2025: **Chandigarh Mayoral Election Headed for Close Contest Between BJP and AAP-Congress Alliance**

Chandigarh, January 30, 2025 – The Chandigarh mayoral election, scheduled for Thursday, January 30, 2025, is expected to be a closely fought contest between the BJP and the AAP-Congress alliance. All necessary arrangements have been made for the election, which will take place in the assembly hall of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

To ensure a peaceful election, Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita has been imposed, prohibiting gatherings of five or more people within 100 meters of the municipal corporation building.

The AAP, currently holding the mayoral seat with Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor as incumbent, is contesting in alliance with the Congress. Prem Lata (AAP) is vying for the mayor’s post against BJP nominee Harpreet Kaur Babla. Congress has fielded Jasbir Singh Bunty and Taruna Mehta for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor respectively, while the BJP has nominated Bimla Dubey and Lakhbir Singh Billu for those positions.

The election will be conducted via secret ballot, following a Supreme Court order responding to a plea from the AAP. The court appointed a former Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice (retd) Jaishree Thakur as an independent observer and mandated videorecording of the proceedings. The election will be overseen by nominated councillor Ramneek Singh Bedi.

The BJP currently holds 16 seats in the 35-member house, boosted by the recent defection of a Congress councillor. The AAP has 13, and its ally, Congress, has 6. The Congress MP, Manish Tewari, also holds a vote as an ex-officio member. The 2024 mayoral election saw a Supreme Court overturn of the initial result, which had declared a BJP candidate as the winner due to irregularities.

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