India, Dec. 30 -- Learning it the hard way after the 2024 vote-tampering fiasco, the Chandigarh administration has decided that the next city mayor will be elected through a show of hands instead of the traditional secret ballot. The 2025 mayoral polls too had seen high-voltage drama as BJP's Harpreet Kaur Babla snatched victory from the jaws of defeat despite her party not having thenumbers in the House, thanks tocross-voting by three rival camp members. What it means: With the UT administrator approving an amendment to Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996, the 2026 polls will be held through show of hands, effectively neutralising any scope of cross-voting and paving way for a more transparent poll process. What next: MP Manish Tewari has also tabled a private bill in the Lok Sabha, seeking a five-year term for the mayor from the present one year. However, its fate hangs in balance. The MC currently has no anti-defection law, making party-switching and horse-trading common ahead of every mayoral election. Authorities would do well to address this as well....