BJP Mayor Resigns Amid Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Turmoil

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the mayoral polls in Chandigarh, Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resigned as Chandigarh mayor on Sunday night. The resignation comes a day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea alleging irregularities in the recently held mayoral polls. Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors – Punam Devi, Neha Musawat, and Gurcharan Kala – who had gone incommunicado three days ago, also resigned and joined the BJP on Sunday night, citing “unhappiness” with the AAP.

The resignation of Mayor Manoj Sonkar was confirmed by Arun Sood, the city unit president of the BJP. The matter of mayoral polls is currently sub judice, and the Supreme Court is expected to decide on it.

The controversy erupted after the Congress and AAP accused the presiding officer for mayoral elections, Anil Masih, of defacing ballot papers. A video purportedly showing Masih tampering with eight votes during the counting process on January 30 went viral on social media, prompting the Supreme Court to take a stern view. The court had criticized Masih and listed the matter for hearing on February 19.

Following the resignations, the BJP will have a majority of 19 votes in the 36-member house for the mayoral polls, while the AAP-Congress alliance will be left with 17 votes. The mayoral polls have faced intense scrutiny, with allegations of irregularities and malpractices during the election process.