'Poaching fear' grips parties ahead of Chandigarh Mayoral poll, Congress moves councillors to Himachal Pradesh

Chandigarh [India], January 14 (ANI): With only three days left in the high-stake Chandigarh mayoral elections, poaching fear has gripped the major parties and has forced parties to shift their councillors to other states as a defensive measure.
State Congress President HS Lucky has gone to Shimla with all his six councillors just before the elections and he told ANI on phone, he will return only after the elections.
He said that whether to cast votes or not, will be decided only by the party.
Last time too, there was a lot of debate between the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP regarding the mayor's election, but Sarabjit Kaur of the BJP was elected mayor by a margin of one vote.
This is the second year in a row that Congress has moved out of the city just before the municipal elections. The high command has sent all of them to Himachal due to the fear of breaking the councillors.
Congress was till now in the role of a game changer in the election but due to the atmosphere like last year, now everyone's eyes are fixed on Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD's) only councillor Hardeep Singh as BJP has a total of 15 votes including MP's vote while Aam Aadmi Party has total 14.
At present, there are 35 councillors in the Municipal Corporation and to be elected, a mayoral candidate must muster at least 19 votes.
Now, only Hardeep Singh can spoil the game of the BJP but its chances are slim as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is the rival party of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab.
In such a situation, only BJP and AAP are face-to-face in the election field.
"Member Parliament from Chandigarh, Kirron Kher is also entitled to vote in this election. If both parties get equal votes, then Kirron Kher's vote can prove to be decisive for BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal also has a councillor and has one vote," said AAP Chandigarh president Prem Garg.
This time the BJP has declared Anup Gupta as its candidate for mayor, while the Aam Aadmi Party has declared Jasveer Singh Laddi as its candidate.
Aam Aadmi Party's Chandigarh president Prem Garg said that his councillor is from Ropar as well.
"The voting for the Mayor should be open so that horse trading will stop and it will be known directly who has voted for whom. BJP has more votes but still, it is expected that the Aam Aadmi Party councillor will become mayor," said Prem Garg.
The Chandigarh mayoral election is slated for January 17. (ANI)