Chandigarh: The Chandigarh unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered another setback Sunday as sitting municipal councillor Munawar joined the Congress along with his supporters at Rajiv Gandhi Congress Bhawan in Sector 35.Munawar’s switch marks the third instance of an elected AAP councillor joining the Congress within six months. Earlier, councillors Premlata and Damanpreet Singh had quit AAP and joined the Congress in Feb and March, respectively.The latest defection has further reduced AAP’s strength in the municipal corporation and could put its claim to the leader of opposition post in jeopardy. With Munawar’s induction, the Congress now has nine councillors in the MC.
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Including the city MP, who is an ex-officio member of the house, the party’s strength has reached 10.Munawar was elected from ward 29, comprising sectors 55, 56 and adjoining areas, winning the municipal elections with around 6,187 votes and a margin of nearly 3,000 votes.Explaining his decision, Munawar told TOI, “I was not getting support from the party to get development works done in my ward. I managed only because of the support of officers. People also approached me to help resolve their issues with the Punjab govt, but my requests were not being heard. After consulting residents of my ward and well-wishers, I decided to quit AAP and join Congress.”Welcoming him into the party, Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky said the growing support for the Congress reflected public confidence in the party’s work. He credited MP Manish Tewari for consistently raising local issues in Parliament and Congress councillors for strongly voicing citizens’ concerns in the municipal corporation.Lucky said the Congress has now emerged as the second largest party in the MC and believes the post of the leader of opposition should rightfully go to it. He added that a meeting of Congress councillors would soon be held to finalise the party’s strategy and decide its nominee for the post.
