The Chandigarh mayoral polls, slated to be held on Thursday, were deferred till further orders after the presiding officer fell sick, claimed several municipal councillors of the Congress and the AAP, citing a message they received from the municipal authorities.
The Congress and the AAP leaders slammed the BJP, accusing it of not allowing to hold the mayoral polls in the wake of its “imminent defeat” and also said that they will move the Punjab and Haryana High Court for holding the elections.
The development came just ahead of the polling for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The meeting for polling through secret ballot was to take place at 11 am in the assembly hall of the municipal corporation.
However, there was no official word on postponing the mayoral polls.
Several councillors received a message on an official WhatsApp group saying: “It is informed that a telephonic message has been received regarding the ill health of Anil Masih, who has been nominated as presiding authority for the meeting scheduled on January 18 for the post of Mayor u/60 (a) read with Regulation 6 (1) of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulation, 1996. In view of the above, it is requested not to reach the MC office till further orders are received.”