Raj Bala Malik of the Bharatiya Janata Party was elected as the new Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation after she defeated Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat on Friday.
While elections to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation are held every five years, but election to the post of Mayor is held every year.
Out of the total 27 votes, Ms. Malik secured 22 to win the post. Mr. Rawat got five votes, the Returning Officer said.
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has 26 elected councillors and nine nominated members. Out of the elected members, 20 are of the BJP, which has a majority in the corporation. The Congress has five councillors while one councillor is from the Shiromani Akali Dal and the other is an Independent. The nominated members do not vote in a mayoral election. Member of Parliament Kirron Kher also has a vote being an ex-officio member of the House.
Mayor’s priority list
Ms. Malik, who had been a Mayor in 2012 as well, said that upgrading the city’s old sewage and water lines were on her priority list.
BJP’s Ravi Kant Sharma was elected as Senior Deputy Mayor while Jagtar Singh, also of the BJP, was elected as Deputy Mayor.
