Chandigarh, March 30 -- Independent journalist Saurabh Duggal retained the Chandigarh Press Club presidency for the second consecutive year, defeating Ajay Sura of The Times of India by 27 votes in a closely fought election that delivered a split verdict across the total nine governing council posts.

Duggal, who had earlier served two back-to-back terms in 2022 and 2023, secured the top post again. However, the overall mandate of 626 voters remained divided, with his panel winning five posts and the rival Sura panel clinching four.

From the Duggal camp, Umesh Sharma of News18 won the senior vice-president post, defeating Mukesh Athwal of Punjabi Tribune by 50 votes with a total of 335 votes. Rajesh Dhall of Dainik Jagran edged past Jogi...