Chandigarh Mayor Election: Congress- AAP Alliance Formed Only for Mayoral Polls, Not for Parliamentary Elections. On Tuesday, in a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi, AAP’s Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha announced this. Congress mayoral candidate Jasbir Singh Banti withdrew his candidacy in support of AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar for the mayor’s position.
In a significant development, a coalition has been forged between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to challenge the BJP in the upcoming Chandigarh mayoral election. This marks the first-ever alliance between these arch-rivals in Chandigarh, albeit exclusively for the mayoral election, not for the parliamentary polls. The announcement was made in a press conference held at the party headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday by Raghav Chadha, a Rajya Sabha member of the AAP.
Mutual Agreement on Positions: Congress mayoral candidate Jasbir Singh Banti has withdrawn his candidacy in support of AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar. Now, AAP’s Kuldeep will compete against BJP’s Manoj Sonakar for the mayoral position. After securing the mayoral post, the Congress has secured the positions of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Neha and Poonam have withdrawn their names in support of Congress candidates Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi for Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively.
Now, the competition for Senior Deputy Mayor is between BJP’s Kuljit Singh Sandhu and Congress’ Gurpreet Singh Gabi, while for Deputy Mayor, it will be between BJP’s Rajendra Sharma and Congress’s Nirmala Devi. On Monday, the candidates from both parties gathered at the Sector-17 Municipal Corporation office under the leadership of Congress President H.S. Lucky and AAP In-charge Dr. S.S. Ahluwalia to withdraw their names.
Solely for Mayoral Election: This alliance is solely for the mayoral election; there is no collaboration for the parliamentary elections. After winning the mayoral election, the Congress will contest for the positions of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, as clarified by Congress President H.S. Lucky and AAP In-charge Dr. S.S. Ahluwalia after the withdrawal of names. They emphasized that the decision on the INAI alliance for the parliamentary seat is still under discussion and will be decided during the meeting of the INAI alliance on the Lok Sabha seat. Dr. S.S. Ahluwalia, AAP In-charge, also stated that the alliance is specifically for the mayoral election, with no implications for the Lok Sabha seat.
