Overview
- BJP, AAP and Congress have each named full slates, with Saurabh Joshi (BJP), Yogesh Dhingra (AAP) and Gurpreet Singh Gabi (Congress) in the fray for mayor on January 29.
- Congress declared it will contest alone and AAP also rejected a pre-poll pact, reversing earlier talks about a one-time understanding to challenge the BJP.
- The vote will be an open show of hands with video recording under new UT rules, a change driven by the 2024 ballot-tampering episode that drew Supreme Court censure.
- BJP’s tally stands at 18 after two AAP defections, AAP has 11 and Congress 6, and the ex-officio vote of MP Manish Tewari factors into the tight arithmetic; a tie would be settled by a draw of lots.
- AAP moved 10 councillors to a resort in Hoshiarpur’s Garhshanker to deter poaching, even as party councillor Ramchandra Yadav filed an independent bid for deputy mayor with two Congress proposers while asserting loyalty to AAP.