Ahead of the mayoral elections scheduled for Thursday in Chandigarh, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha and senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal met on Wednesday to discuss the strategy to defeat BJP. 

A coalition has been formed between AAP and Congress for the Chandigarh mayoral elections. While AAP is contesting for the mayoral position, Congress has fielded candidates for the positions of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor. "There is a concerted effort to defeat BJP with mutual consent between AAP and Congress," senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal said, adding that no matter how clever BJP tries to be, this time the math is in favor of our coalition, and we are poised to take control of the municipal corporation. He said this victory will set the stage for success in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha has expressed confidence that the opposition alliance 'India' will secure victory in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections and that this triumph will mark the beginning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Both AAP and Congress are part of the INDIA alliance at the national level. "The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections will witness the first major showdown between BJP and the India alliance. It will set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," Chadha stated.

Meanwhile,  Chandigarh Congress leaders on Wednesday met party councillor Jasbir Singh Bunty at his home here after the Congress moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court with a habeas corpus petition, accusing police of not allowing them to meet him.

The development came a day after a scuffle broke out between BJP and Congress-AAP workers when Bunty came to withdraw his nomination papers from the post of mayor at the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation office. President of the Congress' Chandigarh unit H S Lucky had alleged that BJP workers had tried to take Bunty away forcibly from the corporation's office. The Congress had also accused the BJP of misusing police to poach him.

Lucky said he was allowed to meet Bunty at his residence here by police. Senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal also met the councillor. During the meeting, Bunty reiterated that he was with the Congress, Lucky said. Bunty and his father also posed for a photo with Bansal and Lucky. Lucky said he had moved the high court on Tuesday night against the Chandigarh Police for not allowing Congress leaders to meet Bunty, alleging he had been "detained" at his residence.

The BJP has rejected the allegations, saying it was Bunty's father who had alleged that he was not allowed to meet his son by the Congress. In the habeas corpus, the petitioner's counsel submitted before Justice Alok Jain that police authorities were not letting Bunty move freely which is a violation of his fundamental rights. 

Following the scuffle between BJP and Congress-AAP workers, police had brought Bunty to his residence in Attawa here from the municipal corporation's office. Several policemen have been deployed outside the Bunty's residence. Bunty was initially the Congress' candidate for the post of mayor. But after the Congress and the AAP sealed an alliance for the mayoral posts, a decision was taken that the AAP would fight for the post of mayor and the Congress nominees would contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. It also has an ex-officio member MP who has voting rights. The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.