Mayoral poll: AAP, Congress push for open voting

The Municipal Corporation General House passed a resolution advocating the use of open voting through a show of hands, instead of the existing secret ballot system for the Mayoral elections. The AAP-Congress alliance has the majority in the House.

The decision was opposed by the BJP councillors, who submitted a dissent note, accusing the AAP-led MC of curbing democratic rights.

Defending the proposal, AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra said, “It is essential to adopt an open hand voting system to prevent horse trading. The BJP is opposing this move because it wants to repeat the misconduct seen in the last Mayoral elections, where democracy was blatantly subverted.”

In the Mayoral poll held in January, several councillors had switched sides, only to realign with their original parties after the election.

When the agenda was tabled, the BJP councillors expressed strong opposition. “The AAP-led corporation is trying to deprive the councillors of their fundamental right by eliminating the secret ballot system,” said a BJP councillor.

The official resolution cited controversies from previous elections to justify the amendment, saying, “To ensure a transparent and equitable election process, it is proposed to amend Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996, to conduct the elections for the posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor by means of a show of hands.”

A Mayor in Chandigarh is elected annually from among the elected councillors through secret ballot. However, the newly passed resolution seeks to amend the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996, by replacing the secret ballot with open voting, which, its supporters argue, will promote transparency and curb electoral malpractices.

The Congress welcomed the resolution, terming it as a necessary reform to cleanse the electoral process. “This step is essential to ensuring fair and free Mayoral elections,” said Rajiv Sharma, Chief Spokesperson for the Chandigarh Congress. “Electoral malpractices, including horse trading before elections, will now be significantly curtailed.”

Sharma also criticised the BJP’s opposition to the resolution, accusing the party of engaging in unethical practices during the Mayoral elections in January.

The fate of the resolution now lies with the Chandigarh Administration, whose decision will determine whether future Mayoral elections will witness a shift from secrecy to transparency.