Mohali, June 10 -- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Sarabjeet Singh Samana, 35, who is the son of Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh, was elected the mayor in the 50-member Mohali municipal corporation (MC) house through a show of hands on Tuesday. Rajinder Parshad Sharma was elected the senior deputy mayor while Harpal Singh Channa was made the deputy mayor. The victory cements AAP's control over both the assembly constituency and the civic body, creating what party leaders termed a "double-engine government" in the city. The election took place after all 50 newly elected councillors were administered the oath of office. The proceedings were conducted under the supervision of Rupnagar divisional commissioner Manvesh Singh Sidhu, who served as convener, while councillor Gurmukh Singh Sohal acted as presiding officer. Municipal commissioner Sundeep Singh Garha, deputy commissioner Komal Mittal, senior superintendent of police Harmandeep Singh Hans and sub-divisional magistrate Damandeep Kaur were also present. Following the election, MLA Kulwant Singh said the AAP entered the House with the support of 35 members - 27 AAP councillors, four Independents, two BJP councillors, one Congress councillor and the MLA himself, who holds an ex-officio vote in the House. Samana's election marks his third term as a councillor and makes him the third mayor of the city after it became a corporation in 2015. He is also the second mayor from Kulwant Singh's family. Kulwant served as Mohali's first mayor following the 2015 elections. The post later went to the Congress camp in 2021, when former minister Balbir Singh Sidhu's brother, Amarjeet Singh (Jeeti) Sidhu, took over as mayor. The mayoral election is being viewed as politically significant for the AAP ahead of the Punjab assembly elections due next year. Having already won the Mohali assembly seat in 2022 and now having control over the MC, the party has strengthened its political footprint in one of Punjab's most prominent urban constituencies. Punjab cabinet minister and AAP Punjab president Aman Arora, who was deputed by the party high command to oversee the election process, congratulated the newly elected office-bearers and expressed confidence that the new leadership would accelerate development projects and improve civic services. Arora thanked the 35 councillors who supported the party's candidates and said the result reflected confidence in the governance model of chief minister Bhagwant Mann. AAP district president Prabhjot Kaur and Punjab water supply and sewerage board chairman Dr Sunny Singh Ahluwalia were also present. The latter was also considered as one of the names for mayor. Ahluwalia said AAP team would work in close coordination to accelerate development across all wards. The proceedings witnessed a brief protest from Congress councillor Narpinder Singh Rangi, who staged a walkout after the oath-taking process, expressing dissatisfaction with developments inside the House. The party, as a whole, boycotted the voting. The election also sparked a political row over allegations of dynastic politics. Former Punjab health minister and senior Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu accused the AAP of abandoning its stated opposition to family-based politics by electing the son of an MLA as a mayor. Sidhu also criticised the absence of women in the three top civic posts, arguing that women councillors had been overlooked despite their representation in the House. It's worth noting that out of 50 wards, 27 were won by women councillors, many with 500+ vote margin, which led to residents believing that one of the key posts will be awarded to a woman councillor. The issue has drawn attention to Mohali's own political history, as the previous Congress-led tenure was also criticised by opponents for promoting family-based leadership, with the mayoral office remaining within the Sidhu family. After assuming charge, Samana, Sharma and Channa thanked the party leadership and pledged to work for the progress of Mohali....