In a surprising political turnaround marked by cross-voting, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday wrested the Kapurthala mayor’s chair despite the Congress having registered a thumping victory in the May 29 civic polls.
AAP’s Narinder Singh Manso, a three-time councillor, was elected mayor, while Kamakshi Duggal and Sameer Sharma were elected senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.
Manso becomes Kapurthala’s third mayor since the municipal corporation was formed in 2019, with the city’s first two mayors having been from the Congress. The election was conducted through a show of hands under the supervision of the divisional commissioner.
In the municipal corporation elections, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 31 of the 50 wards. The AAP had secured 11 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won three seats each, with the remaining seats going to Independents.
With the ex-officio vote of Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, the Congress had 32 votes —six more than the majority mark of 26.
Ahead of the mayoral election, five Congress councillors extended support to the AAP candidate. Along with the backing of the BJP, SAD and Independent councillors, the AAP’s numbers rose to 24, still short of majority.
However, as the MC House assembled on Wednesday to elect the mayor, AAP’s Narinder Singh Manso secured the majority support through cross-voting by Congress councillors, handing the ruling party an unexpected victory.
Alleging that the democratic process was “hijacked” by the ruling AAP, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh alleged that the election was pre-planned by the ruling AAP while senior officials remained mute spectators.
He claimed the Congress had the support of 26 councillors, while the AAP had only 24 after five Congress councillors switched sides. He alleged these councillors were threatened with criminal action if they did not vote in favour of the AAP.
“Despite being the single largest party, the Congress failed to elect its mayor. I will challenge the entire mayoral election process in the Punjab and Haryana high court,” he said.
Rejecting the allegations, AAP MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal said the election was conducted democratically and reflected the support enjoyed by the party within the House.
“Rana Gurjeet should tell the people of Kapurthala why Congress councillors voted in favour of the AAP instead of creating a hue and cry over the issue,” Chabbewal said.
