Days after SC win, Chandigarh AAP mayor’s swearing-in postponed as party tries to restore majority

Days after SC win, Chandigarh AAP mayor’s swearing-in postponed as party tries to restore majority

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) Kuldeep Kumar, Chandigarh’s mayor designate, has indefinitely put off his swearing in for “personal reasons”, days after a Supreme Court battle saw him appointed to the post over his BJP rival.

Kumar’s much awaited oath-taking was initially scheduled Monday at 11.30 am.

Sources told ThePrint that AAP wants to buy time to try and get majority numbers in the civic body house before the election of the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor slated for Tuesday.

Elections for the senior deputy mayor and the deputy mayor can take place only after the mayor takes oath. The mayor acts as the presiding officer for these elections.

From being in a majority in the house when the contentious mayoral elections took place on 30 January, the AAP-Congress alliance now has equal numbers with the BJP.

Three defections from the AAP last week boosted the BJP’s numbers to 17 councillors in the 35-seat municipal corporation. The AAP is left with ten councillors while the Congress has seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor who is expected to back the BJP.

BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher, who is an ex-officio councillor with voting rights, is also expected to back the BJP, giving the party an edge in the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor elections.

Sources said the AAP is trying to get back at least two of the three councillors who recently joined the BJP to win the two posts. According to the AAP-Congress alliance settlement, while the mayor’s post was to be contested by the AAP candidate, the posts of the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor are to be contested by Congress candidates.

The Chandigarh mayor is elected for one year every January while councillors are elected every five years. The last elections of councillors were held in December 2021 after which the BJP had its mayor for two years.

This year’s mayoral election saw a court battle after the AAP-Congress’s majority strength of 20 councillors was nullified by the presiding officer Anil Masih when he declared eight votes invalid. The BJP’s candidate Manoj Sonkar sailed through with the support of 14 councillors.  Kuldeep Kumar then approached the High Court and the Supreme Court.

A Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, held the election of Sonkar illegal, declaring Kumar as the winner. The top court also ordered the prosecution of Anil Masih.

Initially, both Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann were expected to be at the ceremony on Monday. Party sources said Sunday that the leaders would not be attending.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)