Chandigarh mayor elections: Presiding officer falls sick, polling postponed till Feb 6

Chandigarh: The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation mayoral election was postponed on Thursday as presiding officer Anil Masih was unwell. In the afternoon, the administration announced the election to the posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor would be held on February 6.

"This decision follows a thorough assessment of the security and law and order situation by the Senior Superintendent of Police," it said in a statement.

Earlier on Thursday, a message received by councillors reads: "It is informed that a telephonic message has been received regarding the ill health of Anil Masih, who has been nominated as presiding authority for the meeting scheduled on January 18 for the post of Mayor u/60 (a) read with Regulation 6(1) of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulation, 1996. In view of the above, it is requested not to reach MC office till further orders are received."

High drama was witnessed as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress councillors registered their protest over the postponement of the polls at the last minute.

Both the Congress and the AAP have lashed out at the BJP after the cancellation of polls.

Both are a coalition of the Opposition's INDIA bloc, months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

"I have been informed that Congress workers and councillors are not being allowed to go inside the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation office because the presiding officer is not well and he has been hospitalised. They (BJP) want to stop the election... we will move the High Court," Congress leader Pawan Bansal told the media.

All eyes were on the Chandigarh mayoral polls as this would the first test the coming together of the AAP MP Raghav Chadha said: "It is clear that INDIA alliance is winning this election and the BJP is losing. The BJP has got scared of the INDIA alliance."

He said if a presiding officer has fallen ill, then another presiding officer can be appointed to hold the polls.

"We had valid passes for going to the MC office and then it was informed that entry was closed as the presiding officer had suddenly fallen sick.

"He's actually not sick. These are BJP's tactics and it shows that the BJP can stoop to any level to end democracy and free and fair elections," the Rajya Sabha member said.

As per the alliance, the AAP will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor posts.

The meeting for polling through secret ballot was to take place at 11 a.m. in the Assembly hall of the municipal corporation.

In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors, the AAP has 13 councillors, and the Congress has seven.

The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.

Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh had nominated councillor Masih as the presiding authority and he would preside over the February 6 meeting to elect the Mayor, adhering to the established regulations and procedures.