The gloves are off. The heated exchange of words between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress leaders, who had joined forces in 2024 to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the mayoral polls, seem to be on the verge of a split. While local leaders of both parties are openly denying any possibility of fighting the MC General House elections, slated for December, together, there is a huge question mark on the upcoming mayoral elections, especially since the Congress is saying it is open to an “alliance with anyone” to beat the saffron party.
On Tuesday, AAP’s Chandigarh in-charge Jarnail Singh had posted on social media site ‘X’: “On the one hand, bitter rivals; on the other hand, partners in power. The BJP having the mayor’s chair in Chandigarh and the Congress holding the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor is strong proof of an alliance between the BJP and the Congress. The country has now understood this sham fight of yours. This game will not last much longer.”
The Congress had hit out, recalling that in 2024, the mayor belonged to AAP while BJP leaders held key deputy posts.
Political experts say Jarnail’s X post may have been a well-thought out strategy to prepare ground for the Punjab assembly elections slated early next year. The results of Chandigarh MC polls will have a direct bearing on Punjab elections, and the two parties cannot be seen fighting together in the state’s capital just months before.
Jarnail’s comments had come just a day after Congress’ Chandigarh unit president HS Lucky, in a meeting with the party leadership, MP Manish Tewari and councillors, had announced that they are willing to join hands with anyone to defeat the BJP in the mayoral polls.
On Wednesday, Lucky, while talking to HT, said, “There is no way we will contest the December 2026 MC General House elections together. We will sweep the MC elections on our own and do not need a party which has no stand. I think Jarnail Singh was asleep when he suddenly woke up and wrote on social media that the Congress and the BJP are together. In fact, it is AAP councillors who have always betrayed us to join the BJP.”
AAP president Vijay Pal Singh refused to comment on the upcoming mayoral elections but said there will be no alliance during the December elections.
How AAP’s strength eroded from 14 to 11 in 4 years
AAP entered the city with a bang in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with Gul Panag who came third, eating into a majority of vote shares of both the Congress and the BJP. The party lost its momentum soon after but bounced back in 2021 as it won 14 seats in the 35-member House. This was the first time that the AAP had gained a majority in the city. The BJP had won 12 seats while the Congress had 8 and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secured one ward, though its councillor Hardeep Singh who later joined the AAP.
Despite not having a majority, it was the BJP that secured the mayor’s post in 2022, 2023 and 2025. In January 2024, after a bungled mayoral poll, the Supreme Court had declared the AAP candidate as the winner which was the only time AAP was able to post its own mayor.
Since 2021, AAP’s strength has dwindled from 14 to 11 now. In 2023, then AAP councillor Taruna Mehta joined the Congress. Recently, two AAP councillors Poonam and Suman Sharma joined the BJP.
In 2025, BJP’s Harpreet Babla won the high-stakes mayoral contest against AAP’s Prem Lata, securing 19 votes to her 17. A total of 36 votes were cast, including that of MP Manish Tewari, who is an ex-officio member of the House. The BJP won the poll battle despite the AAP-Congress alliance having 20 councillors in its camp, while BJP had 16.
