After the announcement of the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh mayoral polls 2024, the Congress, BJP, and Aam Aadmi Party have declared their candidates for the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor positions, scheduled for January 18. The parties visited the Municipal Corporation office to register their nominations.
The BJP has nominated Manoj Kumar Sonkar for Mayor, Kuljeet Singh Sandhu for Senior Deputy Mayor, and Rajendra Sharma for Deputy Mayor. Chandigarh Pradesh Congress has put forward Jasbir Bunty for Mayor, Gurpreet Gabi for Senior Deputy Mayor, and Nirmala Devi for Deputy Mayor. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated Councilor Kuldeep Kumar from ward number 26 for Mayor, Councilor Neha from ward number 19 for Senior Deputy Mayor, and Councilor Poonam from ward number 16 for Deputy Mayor.
This time, all three parties are contesting in the elections, while in the previous mayoral elections, the Congress did not participate.
Chandigarh Congress declared its decision to contest the elections independently for the three mayor posts. The announcement came as the party candidates, along with hundreds of party workers, filed their nominations at the corporation office. All seven Congress Party councilors were present to support the party candidates. The decision was made after talks with the Aam Aadmi Party leaders did not yield any result. Councilor Jasbir Singh Bunty filed the nomination for Mayor, Gurpreet Singh Gabi for Senior Deputy Mayor, and Nirmala Devi for Deputy Mayor.
Former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal addressed the gathering, expressing concern about the deteriorating condition of Chandigarh city under the BJP›s governance. He asserted that the Congress has a commendable track record of all-round development and maintenance when given the opportunity to run the corporation. In contrast, he criticized the BJP›s disappointing performance in the last eight years, alleging unfulfilled promises made during the 2021 corporation elections, leading to the miserable state of the city and its residents.