Saffron jolt to INDIA in Chandigarh mayoral polls amid rigging charge

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, January 30

The opposition INDIA bloc suffered its first electoral setback on Tuesday as allies Aam Aadmi Party and Congress lost all three mayoral posts to the ruling BJP in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections amid allegations of rigging against presiding officer Anil Masih.

Editorial: Chandigarh polls

High drama prevailed in the House as AAP and Congress councillors created a ruckus after Masih declared eight votes invalid and announced BJP’s Manoj Sonkar winner for the Mayor’s post. The opposition councillors alleged that Masih, who is a nominated councillor and former general secretary of the BJP’s minority wing, put a mark on the eight ballot papers to declare these invalid.

AAP moves High Court, seeks fresh elections

• AAP moved the Punjab and Haryana HC, seeking setting aside of the mayoral poll results and demanding fresh elections under the supervision of a retired HC judge
• The petition was filed by AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar, who was the candidate for the Mayor’s post
• He sought directions to the respondents to seal, preserve and present before the HC the entire process of election

In the 35-member corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors, AAP 13, Congress seven and the SAD one. BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher also has voting rights as an ex-officio member. Of the 36 votes cast, Sonkar secured 16 votes against 12 by AAP nominee Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor (Tita). Other than their 14 councillors and Kher’s vote, the BJP also secured the support of the lone SAD councillor, Hardeep Singh, who had boycotted the previous two mayoral elections. After Masih announced the result for the Mayor’s post, AAP and Congress councillors allegedly snatched the ballots and tried to take them out of the House, but were stopped by marshals. AAP and Congress councillors then indulged in a heated argument with the BJP leaders and the two sides almost came to blows.

INDIA members subsequently boycotted the polling for the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, which BJP’s Kuljit Singh and Rajinder Sharma won 16-0 against Congress’ Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi.

Talking to The Tribune, Masih said, “I did not put any mark on the ballot papers. The allegations are baseless. The eight ballots were declared invalid as a cross or a tick was marked on them by the councillors. I even asked the councillors to come forward to verify their votes, but they didn’t agree.” He alleged the opposition councillors tried to run away with the ballot papers and in the melee, some of them were torn.

It was probably the first time that the media wasn’t allowed inside the House during the mayoral poll. The mediapersons were made to sit in the conference hall to cover the event live on screens. The polls were originally scheduled for January 18 but deferred to February 6 by the Chandigarh administration after presiding officer Masih fell ill. This triggered protests by the Congress and the AAP councillors. On January 24, the Punjab and Haryana HC directed the administration to hold the polls at 10 am on January 30. Elections to the three posts are held every year during the House’s five-year term. The Congress had abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP’s victory.

At a press conference in Chandigarh, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and former Congress MP Pawan Kumar Bansal slammed the BJP for allegedly indulging in “unconstitutional” means to win the elections.

“Right from the beginning, the BJP’s intention of rigging the elections was clear. BJP office bearer Masih was appointed the presiding officer. The election agents of the parties in the fray weren’t allowed near the counting table. The presiding officer himself marked the voting slips and declared eight votes of our members invalid. The invalid votes were not shown to anybody and the presiding officer took them away,” maintained Chadha.

Bansal alleged that what happened in the House was akin to “jungle raj”. “The BJP first tried to lure away our councillors but when it failed, the party played dirty in the elections. They even barred the entry of the media to hide their misdeeds,” said Bansal.