Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Kumar was declared the winner of the Chandigarh mayoral election by the Supreme Court on January 20, with party chief Arvind Kejriwal thanking the top court for 'saving democracy in these trying times' . However, it will not be easy for the AAP-Congress alliance to prove majority in the municipal corporation given its numbers in the House.
The numbers
As things stand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 17 councilors in the 36-member civic body. This includes 14 votes won by the saffron party in the January 30 elections and three AAP defectors who joined the party before Wednesday's SC hearing.
The AAP-Congress alliance that contested the mayoral elections collectively won 12 votes as declared on January 30. Eight votes, previously declared invalid, will not be counted in favor of the alliance bringing the total to 20 votes, as declared by the Supreme Court. on Tuesday based on Jan. 30 results. But three AAP renegades have ensured that the AAP-Congress alliance's votes in the House remain at 17.
The BJP can also count its Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, the ex-officio member of the corporation, and the sole councilor of Akali Dal, by its side. Thus, the BJP's 19 votes could differ from AAP Congress mayor Kuldeep Kumar's 17 in case of a possible no-confidence motion brought against him in the House.
No self-confidence
Also, BJP councilors Kuljeet Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma as senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor were elected unopposed after the AAP and Congress boycotted the polls over the disputed mayoral election.
“The mayor must prove the majority in case the opposition exercises distrust towards him,” said a legal expert. It will also depend on how the AAP-Congress alliance will proceed.
For now, the Congress and AAP leaders are optimistic about the SC intervention and its results. AAP leaders, including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, are calling it the INDIA bloc's first victory against the BJP.
“We robbed them of victory. They stole the election, the votes. But we fought to the end and won in the end. Those who say that the BJP cannot be defeated – BJP can be defeated with unity, with good planning and strategy and hard work. These results prove the same,” Arvind Kejriwal said at a press conference after the SC declared the AAP candidate the winner of the January 30 Mayoral elections.
The controversy
The BJP had won the Chandigarh mayoral election on January 30 by defeating the comfortably placed AAP-Congress alliance candidate after the returning officer nullified eight votes of the coalition partners, sparking a legal-political row.
Manoj Sonkar of the United States had emerged victorious by defeating Kuldeep Kumar after polling 16 votes against his rival's 12 to clinch the mayor's post. The AAP approached the Supreme Court and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court. Manoj Sonkar resigned as mayor before the SC heard. The top court found irregularities in the counting on January 30 and declared that the eight 'invalid' votes should be counted in favor of AAP candidate Kuldeep, leading to his victory.
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