A dramatic political development unfolded in the Kapurthala Municipal Corporation on Wednesday as Congress councillor Narinder Singh Manso was elected Mayor with the support of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), according to claims made after the election.AAP councillor Sameer Sharma was reportedly elected Senior Deputy Mayor, while Congress councillor Kamakshi Duggal was elected Deputy Mayor.The outcome has triggered intense political activity in the city, with speculation that rebel councillors, previously considered close to MLA Rana Gurjit Singh, played a decisive role in the election.The Congress had secured a clear majority by winning 32 of the 50 municipal corporation seats in the civic elections. However, political realignments and cross-party negotiations dominated discussions in the run-up to the mayoral election. The reported support of AAP and rebel Congress councillors for Manso is being viewed as a significant setback for the faction led by Rana Gurjit Singh.Following the election, he strongly questioned the legitimacy of the process, describing it as illegal. He claimed that his camp had the backing of 26 councillors, along with his own vote, giving him a total of 27 votes. He argued that the opposing camp only had 24 councillors, making the declared result questionable.Rana also presented the names of his supporting councillors before the media to demonstrate his claimed numbers and announced that he would challenge the election before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.Meanwhile, the newly elected Mayor thanked the AAP and other opposition councillors for their support. He said his foremost priority would be the development of Kapurthala city, adding that development projects with the municipal corporation would be taken up on priority.The mayoral election has reshaped Kapurthala’s political landscape, with attention now turning to the legal challenge proposed by Rana Gurjit Singh and the subsequent developments that may follow.