Dhalor's tenure won't continue till Feb; mayoral polls to be held in Jan

AAP and Cong had been advocating for next mayoral polls in Feb; however, DC overrules it after taking legal opinion

- Mandeep Kaur Narula

CHANDIGARH: The tenure of incumbent mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor will not continue till February 2025 to allow him to complete the one-year term as the mayoral elections will be held in January as per the Municipal Corporation Act, deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said on Wednesday.

Having clinched victory in the Chandigarh mayoral elections after a hard-fought legal battle, Dhalor, who owes allegiance to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was INDIA bloc contestant, was declared mayor by the Supreme Court on February 20 this year. However, AAP and Congress had been advocating for the next mayoral elections in February, arguing that the Supreme Court appointed Dhalor for a full one-year term beginning February 20. Dhalor was appointed as mayor after the controversy involving presiding officer Anil Masih, who was caught on camera tampering with ballot papers polled in his favour.