Chandigarh, Jan 30 Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema claimed on Thursday that Congress and the BJP had an unethical alliance during the elections Chandigarh mayoral poll.
“We fulfilled our duty, which is why Congress’ Deputy Mayor and Senior Deputy Mayor were elected with the votes of our councillors. The Congress has betrayed us. Congress councillors indulged in cross-voting, leading to BJP’s Mayor being elected,” claimed Cheema.
Cheema further claimed that both the Congress and the BJP are “secretly colluding”.
“They want to stop us. Both parties are scared of the growing influence of AAP. They are even contesting the Delhi Assembly elections together, but this time too, we will form the government in Delhi with a massive majority,” he said.
In a historic victory, the BJP defeated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-Congress alliance in the Chandigarh mayoral elections. BJP candidate Harpreet Kaur Babla secured 19 votes, while the AAP-Congress alliance’s candidate, Prem Lata, received 17 votes.
Harpreet Kaur defeated AAP's Prem Lata by two votes. The latter got 17 votes.
In the 36-member House, the AAP-Congress alliance has 19 councillors -- 13 votes of AAP and six of the Congress, while the BJP has 16 votes.
One vote was of Congress MP Manish Tewari, an ex-officio member of the corporation, taking its total votes to 20.
However, Congress candidates from the INDIA Bloc, Jasbir Singh Bunty and Taruna Mehta, were elected as Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor of Chandigarh, respectively, by securing 19 votes each.
Meanwhile, BJP's Punjab spokesperson, Pritpal Singh Baliawal, said by winning the mayoral position the BJP has exposed the Congress-AAP alliance, proving that both parties are internally united while misleading the public.
Baliawal emphasised that although the people of Punjab helped Congress win seven seats in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-AAP alliance now stands "exposed" before the public.
He asserted that this will directly impact the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor