“Not ready to face defeat,” Congress slams BJP for the postponement of the Chandigarh mayoral elections

The mayoral elections in Chandigarh, originally slated for January 18, have been postponed until further notice. This decision comes after numerous councilors received a text message citing Anil Masih's health issues as the reason for postponement; Masih was nominated to oversee the elections. In response, the Congress has asserted that with the postponement, the BJP is trying to avoid potential defeat in the elections.

As per reports, several councilors received a message around 10:30am in the morning. "It is informed that a telephonic message has been received regarding ill health of Sh Anil Masih who has been nominated as Presiding authority for the meeting scheduled on 18.1.24 for the post of mayor u/60 (a) read with Regulation 6(1) of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation(Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulation 1996. In view of above, it is requested not to reach MC office till further orders are received please," read the message.

The declaration sparked protests from both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had forged an alliance for the mayoral elections. Demonstrators expressed their dissatisfaction with the announcement, alleging that the postponement was a strategic move by the Bharatiya Janata Party to avoid defeat.

"The BJP was not ready to face defeat and they intentionally postponed the elections. If BJP would have believed in democracy, they would have requested DC to change the presiding officer. This is end of democracy. We will now move to court," said Pawan Bansal, former MP and senior Congress leader.

The Aam Aadmi Party has stated that the absence of the BJP councillors from the venue indicated prior knowledge that the elections would not proceed as scheduled. In response to the situation, the Congress has announced its intention to take legal action to challenge the decision to postpone the elections.


At present, the BJP holds the majority with 14 councillors in the 35-member Municipal Corporation (MC) House. AAP closely follows with 13 members, while the Congress has seven councillors, and one councillor represents SAD.