BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar on Tuesday defeated AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar to win the post of mayor in the Chandigarh mayoral polls.

The polls, being held following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, assumes significance with opposition INDIA bloc members Congress and AAP joining hands to contest the elections.

As part of the alliance, the AAP is contested for the mayor’s post while the Congress has fielded candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.