Manoj Sonkar of the BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral elections on Tuesday, after eight votes of the INDIA bloc were declared invalid. The saffron party also won the deputy mayoral and senior deputy mayoral polls, after a boycott by the AAP and Congress that alleged “unfair” means.
All eyes were on the opposition front amid numerous setbacks it has faced in recent days, the latest being the departure of its architect, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. This was the first election where bitter rivals, the Congress and AAP, had agreed to contest together making it a big step towards building confidence; especially considering that, in Punjab, chief minister Bhagwant Mann has refused to share seats with the grand old party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Sonkar was declared the winner with 16 votes, while the BJP had a total of 14 + 1 votes. Perhaps, Shiromani Akali Dal’s one vote went in its favour. The AAP and Congress had 13 and seven votes each, but got a total of 12 votes after eight were declared invalid.
‘DEEPLY WORRYING’
Soon after the results were declared, AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the mayoral elections in the union territory, which is the capital of Punjab and Haryana, were conducted in an “unfair manner”.
“The unfair manner and dishonesty in broad daylight in the Chandigarh mayor elections is extremely worrying. If these people can stoop so low in a mayor’s election, they can go to any extent in the country’s elections. This is very worrying,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
चंडीगढ़ मेयर चुनाव में दिन दहाड़े जिस तरह से बेईमानी की गई है, वो बेहद चिंताजनक है। यदि एक मेयर चुनाव में ये लोग इतना गिर सकते हैं तो देश के चुनाव में तो ये किसी भी हद तक जा सकते हैं। ये बेहद चिंताजनक है।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 30, 2024
Punjab’s AAP MP Sandeep Pathak also alleged “dishonesty” in the Chandigarh mayoral election, calling it “deeply concerning”. “…If these malpractices can occur in a local election, it raises serious questions about the integrity of our national elections. This is extremely alarming and calls for a thorough examination of our electoral processes,” he said in a post on X.
The level of dishonesty witnessed in the Chandigarh mayoral election is deeply concerning. If these malpractices can occur in a local election, it raises serious questions about the integrity of our national elections. This is extremely alarming and calls for a thorough…
— Dr. Sandeep Pathak (@SandeepPathak04) January 30, 2024
Congress MP and former minister Pawan Bansal also took to X and said: “The worst fears of unabashed tempering by the BJP’s councillor-presiding officer in a premeditated and planned intrigue to murder democracy have come true in Chandigarh mayoral elections. Agent of the Congress-AAP candidate was not allowed to see the ballot papers, the presiding officer announced rejection of eight votes, declared BJP candidate winner and went away. BJP members rushed to the table and tore off the ballot papers,” Bansal said in a post on X. (sic)