BJP-SAD sweeps Chandigarh civic polls, Amit Shah says demonetisation vote

New Delhi: The massive victory of the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal combine in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections has come as a shot in the arm both for the saffron party and the Centre, particularly as it comes close on the heels of the hugely contentious demonetisation move.

The results of the largely urban dominated city may now well be viewed as an endorsement of the demonetisation drive and the BJP is likely to make political capital out of it in the days ahead, though the sweeping victory was primarily due to a combination of a host of issues, many of them local.

According to local political observers, one of the main reason for the BJP-SAD coalition winning 21 of the 26 municipal wards is that Chandigarh being a Union Territory is primarily governed by the Centre and comes directly under the administrative control of the Union home ministry.

There was a view among the electorate that with the BJP being in power at the Centre and the local MP, Kirron Kher, also from the same party, there could be better co-ordination with the local civic agency if the same party is voted to power.

“With the Centre deciding on the budget of the MC and other issues like appointing the UT administrator, perhaps people felt that local problems could be addressed better if the BJP was voted to power,’’ said Trilochan Singh, a former lecturer of political science at Panjab University.

According to Mr Singh, the demonetisation was not a “major issue” during the MC elections since Chandigarh does not have a sizeable agricultural or industrial work force.

“Though locals in Chandigarh are facing problems due to the demonetisation, the party failed to convert it into a major electoral issue and it worked in favour of the BJP,’’ Mr Singh added.

Sources in the Chandigarh administration say at least three days before the civic polls, a large amount of new currency notes were pumped into the city’s ATMs, which diluted the impact of the demonetisation drive.

BJP chief Amit Shah described the win in the Chandigarh MC polls as the people’s “stamp of approval” for the demonetisation. He said the victory in elections in different parts of the country following the decision shows popular mood and should serve as a lesson to the Opposition parties.

Encouraged by the major victory Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal described it as a “trailer”, and said the complete film would emerge after the “spectacular victory” during the coming Assembly elections.

“This result would prove as a trendsetter for ensuring back to back victory of the alliance for the third consecutive term in the state,’’ Mr Badal said.

The BJP president claimed the BJP has won in local polls in four places after PM Narendra Modi took the decision and hit out at Congress, which has targeted the government over it, saying the Opposition has emerged as a “symbol of negative politics” in the country.

“The BJP’s unprecedented win in Chandigarh is another example of people’s faith in Modi’s vision, the BJP’s politics of performance,” he added.

A local Congress leader, requesting anonymity, admitted that the BJP fought a more ``aggressive and systematic campaign’’. ``Most of our senior leaders were busy in Delhi due to the ticket distribution for Punjab elections and we were left only with former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal. Also, the BJP had a number of senior leaders, including the sitting MP, who campaigned aggressively for the elections, so perhaps there was a view among the local voters that the BJP was more serious in dealing with local issues,’’ the Congress leader admitted.

The Congress was faced with a huge anti-incumbency also as it has remained in power in the Chandigarh MC for almost past 14 years. Kuldeep Kumar, a former director in the UT administration, said the voters were looking for a change as they felt that the Congress has not been able to deal with local problems despite being in power for so long.

“Local issues definitely played a role in the elections. Like other urban centres, Chandigarh is also growing at a rapid pace, which comes with its own problems. So people felt that with the BJP in power at the Centre, it would be better if they control the local municipality also,’’ he added.

However, the growing view among political observers in the city is that the election results may not have significant impact on the Punjab Assembly elections, which are due in just a couple of months.