Never have the mayoral polls of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation witnessed so much drama and such rancour. What started as a low-profile election held every year to elect a new mayor, a post more titular than powerful, was transformed into a high voltage battle once the Aam Aadmi Party joined hands with Congress for the three posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The announcement, made three days before the elections were scheduled to take place on January 18, seemed to change the complexion of the electoral process. The numbers seemed stacked in favour of the newly-minted alliance with 13 AAP and seven Congress councilors pitted against 14 of the BJP. Senior AAP leaders predicted it would be the first win for INDIA, the anti-BJP alliance at the national level. But as things turned out, they had underestimated their opponent’s will to win, at any cost.

The sequence of events bears recounting. The January 18 election was called off a few minutes before it could start. Reason: The presiding officer, a nominated councilor, who was also an office-bearer of the BJP, had apparently been taken ill. The Chandigarh administration tasked with holding these polls pushed them to February 6, citing among other reasons law and order and preoccupation with preparations for the Republic Day. Many were left wondering how an election that required the counting of a mere 36 votes could depend on the health or well being of one individual when the deputy commissioner was the prescribed authority. Finally, an intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court led to the polls being held on January 30. On election-eve, media personnel were barred from entering the Municipal House; the polling was beamed on an outdoor screen. Inside, amid chaos, the BJP pulled off a surprise victory with 16 seats, surpassing the alliance’s 12, after eight of the latter’s votes were invalidated. The mayoral candidate of the alliance has sought relief from the High Court, which has asked the UT administration to respond in three weeks.

A day after the debacle, amid charges and counter-charges, there is speculation about horse-trading, and allegations of alliance councilors being cloistered away in secret locations before the polls. The humdrum corporation has turned into a political minefield. At stake, above all, is the basic question of fairness and transparency. The inconsistencies that have riddled this poll process threaten to reduce it to a charade. They also raise apprehensions about deviations from, and distortions of, due process when the stakes are higher, in larger arenas.