Chandigarh: Following intense political dramas in Chandigarh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has clinched victory in the mayoral elections held on Tuesday. The polls, initially slated for January 8, were rescheduled to January 30 due to the presiding officer’s illness.
Manoj Sonkar secured the mayoral position, defeating AAP-Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh. Sonkar received 16 votes, while Singh got 12 votes, with eight votes declared invalid. This marked the inaugural election for the I.N.D.I. Alliance, an opposition coalition aimed at challenging the NDA at the national level.
Despite the combined efforts of the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress, they could not defeat the BJP candidate. Manoj Sonkar also secured the vote of ex-officio member Kirron Kher.
Political observers view this outcome as a setback for the I.N.D.I. Alliance’s aspiration to break the BJP’s eight-year rule. In the 35-member municipal corporation, the BJP and the I.N.D.I. Alliance each hold 15 members. This election, the first after the formation of the I.N.D.I. Alliance in Chandigarh, is seen as a potential indicator of the alliance’s performance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
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