In a step towards accountability, now Chandigarh mayoral polls be held via show of hands
In a bid to enhance transparency and accountability in the election process, the mayoral elections in Chandigarh will now be held through an open voting system — by a show of hands — instead of the long-followed secret ballot method.
The decision comes after Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria approved an amendment to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996.
Under the newly amended Regulation 6, the elections for the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor of Chandigarh will now be conducted in the House by visible hand-raising. Kataria emphasised that this reform would ensure more transparent governance by holding elected representatives publicly accountable for their votes, while also streamlining the electoral process.
The amendment was proposed and passed by the Municipal Corporation House and is empowered by Section 398(2) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, as extended to the Union Territory through the UT Act of 1994.
This change follows a controversial 2024 mayoral election in which the presiding officer, Anil Masih — a nominated councillor — was caught on camera tampering with votes to benefit BJP's candidate Manoj Sonkar over the AAP-Congress nominee Kuldeep Kumar. The incident, condemned by the Supreme Court as a 'murder of democracy,' led to a historic verdict declaring Kumar the rightful mayor, giving Chandigarh its first non-BJP, non-Congress mayor.
Following the debacle, Kumar, as Mayor, led a House resolution in October 2024 advocating a move to open voting. He even filed a petition in the Supreme Court before the 2025 elections requesting to replace secret ballots with a show of hands. While the court declined to intervene, it allowed the administration to take a call.
The 2025 elections again saw controversy with BJP winning through alleged cross-voting from opposition councillors. With the new system in place, such behind-the-scenes vote manipulations will be significantly harder, as councillors will now cast votes in full public view — mirroring how other resolutions in the House are passed.
The move aligns Chandigarh with several other municipalities adopting open voting mechanisms to strengthen democratic accountability and transparency.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh Congress president H S Lucky welcomed the decision and thanked the Administrator for this step.
He said the Chandigarh Congress and MP Manish Tewari had been demanding for allowing voting by showing of hands.
'This move will pave the way for cleaner politics and help in enhancing the image of Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh and its councillors who constantly face charges of horse trading,' he said in a statement
(With PTI inputs)
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