The ruling alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab swept the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election on Tuesday, winning 21 out of the 26 wards. The Congress bagged four seats while one went to an independent candidate, reported PTI.
The BJP had contested from 22 wards while SAD fought for four seats, reported The Times of India. The overall polling percentage was 59.54%. As many as 122 candidates, including 67 Independent nominees, were in the fray. Apart from the ruling alliance and Congress, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party had also contested from 17 wards.
The municipal corporation has 36 members, of which 26 are elected councillors, nine are nominated and one is an MP (ex-officio member of the House). At least 19 votes are needed to win the seats of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. This means the BJP-SAD will have their mayor in the corporation for the next five years.
The win comes ahead of the state’s Assembly election and was a crucial test for the BJP after demonetisaton. According to the BJP, the win is yet another marker of success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s note ban move. Party MP Kirron Kher told NDTV, “Demonetisation has not affected the polls, there were problems, but our people are very understanding.”
Earlier, the BJP made significant gains in the civic elections in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
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