AAP sinks as cross-voting helps BJP

Three cross-votes from AAP-Congress camp propel BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla to victory against AAP's Prem Lata

- Mandeep Kaur Narula

CHANDIGARH: In a politically charged contest on Thursday, simmering tensions within both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, coupled with the fractured unity of their alliance, allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reclaim the Chandigarh mayoral seat that it had lost last year after eight straight years of control.

Harpreet Kaur Babla, 60, secured a narrow but decisive win over AAP-Congress candidate Prem Lata, 46, by a razor-thin margin of just two votes in the 35-member municipal corporation. Despite a numerical advantage, the AAP-Congress alliance was plagued by differences and seething internal rifts within both parties, undermining their leaders' efforts and paving the way for the BJP to exploit the cracks within.

The INDIA bloc, boasting 20 votes—13 from AAP, six from Congress and MP Manish Tewari's ex-officio vote—was expected to deliver a comfortable victory. However, three crucial cross-votes from within the alliance allowed Harpreet to secure 19 votes, edging out Prem Lata, who managed 17. With the total 36 votes, 19 were needed to win.

Harpreet's win marked a striking comeback for the BJP, which had suffered embarrassing defeats in Chandigarh the previous year—first in the mayoral race and later in the Lok Sabha elections. The victory also injected fresh momentum in its campaign ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly elections.