Two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors in Chandigarh, Suman Sharma and Poonam, have defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just weeks before the mayoral elections scheduled for January 2026. This move increases the BJP's strength in the 35-member Municipal Corporation House to 18, leaving them one vote short of the 19 needed to win. The AAP's numbers decrease to 11, while the Congress holds six seats. The alliance between AAP and Congress, along with the local MP, also totals 18 votes, setting up a closely contested election.