DM Monitoring
Chandigarh: Nearly a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologised to the nation for the three controversial farm laws brought by his government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced a massive defeat in the Chandigarh civic polls, in territory it was ruling since 2016 with a two-third majority.
While it had been speculated that Congress would grab the anti-BJP vote, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that fought these polls for the first time, emerged the major gainer by winning 14 out of 35 seats in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
The ruling BJP was reduced to just 12 seats while Congress could not win more than eight seats. One seat went to Shiromani Akali Dal. This was the first polls held in northern India after BJP’s repeal of the farm laws, which is also expected to have a significant role in the outcome of the coming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
AAP’s Chandigarh convenor Prem Garg told The Wire that defeat of the BJP in Chandigarh civic polls is a clear referendum on its “blunder on the farm laws and its failure to control inflation.”
“People also taught BJP a huge lesson for its misgovernance in Chandigarh, the country’s first planned city, wherein the civic infrastructure has gone from bad to worse in the last five years of its rule in the MC,” said Garg. He said by also not voting for Congress, people have sent out a clear message that they want a change from BJP and Congress. “Chandigarh is just a trailer. Punjab is our next target where people will also vote for change from traditional parties,” said Garg.
In Chandigarh, the mayor’s term is for a year. Every year, existing members of the MC house elect a new city mayor. Ever since BJP got the brute majority in the Chandigarh polls in 2016 (21 out of 26 seats that were increased to 35 seats in this election), there has been constant infighting within the party for the mayor’s post.
Even current BJP Chandigarh president Arun Sood, who is considered close to BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda has been blamed with encouraging factional rifts. But there appears to have been no course correction. As a result, BJP miserably failed in setting up a proper waste management system for Chandigarh, causing its ‘City Beautiful’ tag to appear facetious.
The Chandigarh MC under BJP even failed to execute basic civic duties, like timely construction of roads and flood management system for a city that has a global appeal. Chandigarh, being a Union Territory, is directly under control of the BJP-ruled Union government. Actor Kirron Kher has represented the city as BJP MP since 2014 and many believe that a chorus will grow within the local BJP for a leadership change. How badly BJP has performed can be gauged from the fact that its outgoing mayor Ravi Kant Sharma has been defeated soundly, apart from the loss of seats of two ex-mayors, including Davesh Moudgil.
