BJP councilor Saurabh Joshi has been elected Mayor of Chandigarh with 18 votes. Congress candidate Gurpreet Singh Gabbi received 7 votes, while AAP’s Yogesh Dhingra received 11 votes.
BJP’s Saurabh Joshi wins triangular battle
Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again hoisted its flag in the Chandigarh Mayoral elections of 2026. BJP candidate Saurabh Joshi has been elected the city's new Mayor. He decisively defeated the candidates of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a triangular contest.
BJP councilor Saurabh Joshi was elected Mayor of Chandigarh with 18 votes. Congress candidate Gurpreet Singh Gabbi received 7 votes, while AAP's Yogesh Dhingra received 11 votes.
Jasmanpreet Singh elected as Senior Deputy Mayor
In addition, BJP's Jasmanpreet Singh has been elected Senior Deputy Mayor. The contest for the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor was also interesting. For the Senior Deputy Mayor post, the BJP nominated Jasmanpreet Singh, AAP nominated Munawwar Khan, and Congress nominated Sachin Galav.
Voting for the posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation began at 11 am. The BJP fielded Saurabh Joshi, Congress fielded Gurpreet Singh Gabbi, and AAP fielded Yogesh Dhingra. For the Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts, candidates from all three parties, along with an independent candidate, were in the fray.
The BJP has 18 councilors, AAP has 11, and Congress has 6, plus an additional vote from the Member of Parliament (Manish Tewari). The election was conducted by a show of hands, and if there had been a tie, there was a provision for a toss under the Municipal Corporation Act. Unlike last year, this time the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party did not contest the elections together. Both parties fielded separate candidates.
Contested for first time
This is the first time since the formation of the current house in 2022 that all three parties contested the mayoral elections independently. The municipal corporation has 35 elected councilors, and the city's Member of Parliament also has the right to vote, bringing the total number of voters to 36. Therefore, a candidate needs 19 votes to be elected mayor.
