Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday won the elections for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, giving the city a new mayor.
BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi was elected as the new mayor of Chandigarh. The election was conducted through a show of hands instead of a ballot paper. BJP secured 18 votes, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received 11 votes and the Congress got seven.
After the result was announced, congratulations poured in for Joshi. As many as 18 BJP councillors raised their hands in support of him. Congress candidate Gurpreet Singh Gabi received support from seven councillors, including a Member of Parliament, while 11 councillors backed AAP candidate Yogesh Dhingra.
Jasmanpreet Singh of the BJP was elected senior deputy mayor after receiving the support of 18 councillors. For the post of deputy mayor, independent candidate Ram Chander Yadav withdrew his nomination, a move that did not affect the outcome.
Ahead of the elections, Chandigarh Police tightened security arrangements outside the Municipal Corporation office. The premises were turned into a high-security zone, with all entry routes sealed using barricades.
Earlier, BJP mayoral candidate Saurabh Joshi, along with party councillors, arrived together at the Municipal Corporation office after 10 am, raising slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
For the post of senior deputy mayor, BJP fielded Jasmanpreet Singh, AAP nominated Munavvar Khan, while the Congress candidate was Sachin Galav. For the deputy mayor’s post, BJP nominated Suman, AAP fielded Jaswinder Kaur, and the Congress candidate was Nirmala Devi.
