The administration has taken a big decision to deal with the problem of cross voting and spoiling of votes in the Chandigarh Mayor Election. Now, instead of secret ballot paper, voting will be done by asking the councilors to raise their hands in the election of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor. This change will increase transparency and will curb cross voting.
Chandigarh Mayor Election The ruckus that happens every year on cross voting and spoiling of votes in the mayor election will be curbed next time, because the UT administration is going to make changes in the voting process in the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections.
Which will be applicable to the next election. The administration is going to conduct voting by asking the councilors to raise their hands instead of secret ballot paper next time. Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria has given his consent to this proposal.
Secret voting has been going on continuously since 1997
Actually, the administrator is in favor of complete transparency in the election. This time also he had given clear instructions to the officers including the DC that the elections should be completely transparent.
In such a situation, changes will be made in the rules and act to change the voting process, for which the officials have been asked to work.
It is known that since the year 1997, the mayor election has been held by secret ballot by the councilors. The benefit of which has been received by those who cross vote.
This time also there was cross voting
This time also BJP’s Harpreet Kaur Babla won the election due to three votes being cross. One vote was cross in the election of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor. It is known that the notification of the election is issued by the DC.
At present, when a proposal is passed in the House, the majority is also ascertained by raising hands of the councilors. This time, of course, three votes were cross voted but the opposition has not raised any question on the election process.
All parties have suffered the brunt of cross voting
The benefit of conducting voting by raising hands will be given to that political party which has the highest number of councilors and if a councilor of any party wants to vote for the candidate of the opposition party, then he will have to openly support it in front of everyone.
In such a situation, the accountability of the councillors towards their political parties will also increase and the different types of inducements given in exchange for cross voting will also be curbed. All political parties have suffered the consequences of cross voting in the past years despite having a majority.
The proposal has been passed in the House
While the House has passed the proposal to vote by raising hands, now the Municipal Act will be amended. Its notification will be issued and objections will also be sought from the city residents.
Sources say that the administrator was in favor of voting by raising hands this time itself, but the officials said that this decision cannot be implemented by changing the Act so soon.
So now the officials have been asked to work on this issue next time, which the officials are studying. Actually, last time there was a lot of uproar in the matter of presiding officer Anil Masil canceling eight votes of AAP-Congress councillors in favor of the BJP candidate.
After which the Supreme Court declared AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the mayor in this case. That incident brought a lot of disrepute to Chandigarh in the whole country.
Anti-defection law has also been passed
The Punjab Municipal Act is followed in Chandigarh. A few years ago, the Municipal Corporation House had passed an agenda to implement the anti-defection law in Chandigarh and it was sent to the Central Government.
It could not be implemented due to lack of approval. In the last three years, four councillors have joined BJP and one councillor has joined Congress from another party.
AAP went to the Supreme Court, left the decision to the administration
This year also, in January, the then AAP Mayor Kuldeep Kumar had filed a petition demanding voting by showing hands instead of secret ballot to ensure fairness in the voting process, on which the Supreme Court refused to intervene in this matter and left the decision to the administration.
According to the administration, the political parties repeatedly approaching the court after the change in the voting process will also be curbed and clean politics will be promoted. Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson and councillor Yogesh Dhingra says that every time during the mayoral elections, horse-trading takes place.
Councillors have to stay away from their homes. If even a single vote is cross-voted in the election, all the councillors are tainted. If there is a change in the election process of the mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, all these will be curbed.
