Chandigarh: Punjab-Haryana High Court, which heard a plea regarding AAP and Congress's allegation of poll rigging by the BJP, on Wednesday asked the Chandigarh administration to respond within three week's time.
During the hearing in the court, Punjab AG Gurminder Singh Ghari said Mayoral election on Tuesday, January 30, was marked by skirmishes. A video has been recorded, said the AG and added that the concerned officer has cheated as the ballot paper was tampered with. He said the orders of the High Court have been ignored in the Chandigarh Mayoral elections.
Soon after the BJP swept the Chandigarh Mayoral Polls on Tuesday in a shock defeat for the AAP-Congress alliance, both parties alleged foul play and filed a petition in the Punjab-Haryana High Court highlighting concerns over the integrity of the elections.
The two opposition partners had predicted an easy victory in the 35-member House of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, projecting it as an early test for the INDIA bloc but the BJP retained all three top posts for which elections were held. Councillors from the two parties created a ruckus in the House as the result for the mayor’s post was declared, and then boycotted the next phase – elections to pick the senior deputy mayor and the deputy mayor.
BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar defeated the AAP's Kuldeep Kumar for the mayor’s post, polling 16 votes against the 12 won by his rival. Eight votes were declared invalid. After the opposition boycott, BJP nominees Kuljit Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma were declared elected to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively. They got 16 votes each.
Tuesday’s elections were held on directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, following their postponement on January 18. Opposition councillors alleged tampering with the ballot papers by presiding officer Anil Masih, a charge rejected by him and the BJP.
Hours after the result, Aam Aadmi Party's defeated candidate moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, party leaders said. The party wants the court to set aside the results and order fresh elections under the supervision of a retired high court judge.
Soon after the results were out, Opposition councillors squatted outside the House and shouted slogans against the BJP after the result. AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar was seen in tears. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal called the election a “brazen, shameless capture of the democratic system”. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal expressed 'serious concern' over the 'cheating' in 'broad daylight' and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called it a Black Day for democracy in India.
Presiding Officer Anil Masih was accused by AAP and Congress of tampering with the ballot papers during the counting of votes. BJP president JP Nadda took a dig at the opposition’s unity efforts. “That the INDIA alliance fought their first electoral battle and still lost to BJP shows that neither their arithmetic is working nor their chemistry,” he said.
Newly elected mayor Sonkar also slammed the opposition. "Levelling allegations is what they do. The presiding officer conducted the polls in a fair manner and the entire process was videographed," he said. “They tried to tear the ballot papers when the mayoral poll result was declared and they got into scuffles," he claimed.
The AAP and the Congress have accused the presiding officer of making some marks on the ballot papers during the counting, rendering them invalid. They argued that these “invalid” ballots tilted the balance in the BJP’s favour. Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal claimed that the Congress and the AAP agents were not allowed to examine the ballot papers.
“The presiding officer announced the rejection of eight votes, declared the BJP candidate the winner and went away. BJP members rushed to the table and tore off the ballot papers," he alleged. Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat too alleged that the presiding officer did not call the party's election agent when the ballot box was opened for counting. "We do not accept the result," he said.
The BJP has 14 councillors in the 35-member corporation. Its Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher also has voting rights as an ex-officio member.
The AAP has 13 councillors, the Congress seven and the Shiromani Akali Dal one. In Punjab, the AAP and the Congress have indicated reluctance to contest the Lok Sabha polls together even though they are both in the INDIA grouping. But they agreed to contest together in the elections in Chandigarh, the Union Territory that serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
Read More
- Chandigarh mayoral polls: Black Day for country's democracy, says Punjab CM Mann
- Chandigarh mayoral polls: Will approach HC for fresh elections, says AAP's Raghav Chadha
