Chandigarh MC polls: Sitting mayor of BJP loses to AAP candidate

Sitting mayor Ravi Kant Sharma of the BJP was defeated by AAP candidate Damanpreet Singh in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls, according to results declared so far on Monday.

Counting of votes is underway for the election held here on Friday.

While the AAP has won five wards so far, the Congress and the BJP have bagged two each.

Ravi Kant Sharma lost his seat to Damanpreet Singh from ward number 17 by a margin of 828 votes.

Former mayor and BJP candidate Davesh Moudgil lost to AAP's Jasbir by 939 votes from ward number 21.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which was contesting the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls for the first time, was leading in three wards, and the Congress in one.

Nine counting centres have been set up for 35 wards of the municipal corporation.

The number of wards has increased from 26 in 2016 to 35 now.

Traditionally, the municipal election - held every five years - sees a locking of horns between the BJP and the Congress, but the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party made the contest this time triangular.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a majority in the current municipal body.

In the last MC elections, the BJP had won 20 seats and its erstwhile ally Shiromani Akali Dal one. The Congress had managed to win only four seats.

The BJP fought the election on plank of its "achievements" in the past five years.

On the other hand, the Congress and the AAP targeted the BJP for allegedly failing to undertake development work and criticised it over the city going down in the "Swachh Survekshan" (a ranking for cleanliness) rankings.

The two parties also targeted the BJP for not resolving the issue of the Dadumajra dumping ground besides those of rise in prices of essential commodities.