CHANDIGARH, September 20 — The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday announced that it will contest all 35 wards of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections scheduled for December 2026, ruling out any alliance with other parties.
Addressing a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club, SAD’s city unit president Charanjit Singh Villy said no political party — including the BJP and Congress — had been able to address the problems of residents. “The condition of the city is deteriorating day by day. The roads are in the worst state residents have ever seen,” he said.
Villy demanded that the charges for converting property from leasehold to freehold be reduced to affordable levels and alleged that the current collector rates for property registry did not reflect ground realities.
He further pressed for giving Punjabi the status of the city’s first language and criticised the administration for “diluting Punjab’s share” in the Union Territory. He said the 60:40 Punjab-Haryana ratio in appointments of officers and employees should be maintained.
Calling for a five-year fixed term for the mayor, Villy said the current one-year tenure encouraged corruption, with councillors switching sides before the mayoral election. He also dismissed the recent move to hold the election of mayor by show of hands as an ineffective solution.
In the last municipal elections, SAD had won one seat, but its councillor later joined AAP.
