AAP and Congress seal alliance for Chandigarh mayoral polls

The AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) and the Congress have arrived at an understanding on contesting the Chandigarh mayoral polls in an alliance, sources said on Monday, 15 January.

Under the arrangement, the AAP will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, the sources said.

The development came amid the AAP and the Congress, both constituents of the INDIA bloc, holding talks over seat sharing for this year's Lok Sabha polls.

With the AAP and the Congress deciding to have a tie-up for the January 18 Chandigarh mayoral polls, it is going to be a two-way contest and observers believe that the two parties will have an edge over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. The party also has an ex-officio member MP who has voting rights.

The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.

Polls for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held on Thursday.

The Congress abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP's victory in the mayoral polls.

Elections for the three posts are held every year during the five-year term of the House. This year, the mayor's seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.