AAP has decided to move to Punjab and Haryana High Court and seek fresh polls for Chandigarh mayor's post under supervision of retired judge.
AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal, on Tuesday, claimed that BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar's victory in the Chandigarh mayoral elections was a result of "cheating in broad daylight".
The party wants the court to set aside the results and order fresh elections under the supervision of a retired high court judge. AAP leaders expected the matter to be heard on Wednesday.
Kejriwal in a post on X wrote, "The manner in which dishonesty has been done in broad daylight in the Chandigarh Mayor elections is extremely worrying."
"Seventy-six years ago on January 30, Mahatma Gandhi -- the preacher of non-violence -- was assassinated and, on the same day, the BJP has murdered democracy," he alleged.
Lashing out at the BJP, Kejriwal claimed the saffron party will not give up power even if it loses the Lok Sabha polls.
"They will stick to power like (former US president) Donald Trump, even if it led to martial law imposition in the country," Kejriwal said.
He further said, "It is a black day for democracy. Everyone saw how they stole votes and forcibly made their candidate win. The issue is not who becomes the mayor but the country should not lose and democracy should not lose. Mayors come and go, parties come and go."
Rahul Gandhi also reacted to the allegations made by AAP regarding the manipulation of votes in mayoral polls. Hewrote on a post on X, “It is beyond imagination what the BJP, which can kill democracy in front of the whole world in the mayoral elections, will do to remain in power in Delhi.”
“Years ago, on this day, Godse had assassinated Gandhiji and today Godsewadis sacrificed his ideals and constitutional values,” he added.
AAP alleges manipulation of votes
Kejriwal also shared a video posted by AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha which features a presiding officer manipulating the ballot papers.
AAP MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring shared the same video and wrote, "They are comfortable with using muscle power, agencies, money, pressure tactics, using the officers and what not…"
He further added, "Today’s incident is not just concerning for the political class… it should be concerning for every parent, for every student, for every citizen of this country… do we want such future for our kids? Do we want a dictatorship ? And if the answer is no… it’s time to fight back! Otherwise it will soon be too late."
Opposition councillors squatted outside the House and shouted slogans against the BJP after the result. AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar was seen in tears.
Punjab CM and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann told ANI, "Today will be written and remembered as a 'black day' in the democracy of our country. Unfortunately, this is the same month when we celebrate Republic Day. Today, Constitution has been shredded. The manner in which Chandigarh mayor election was 'looted' by the BJP before the media, in front of the cameras. They did this in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, northeastern states before this. So, this is their old habit..."
After the announcement of the poll results councillors from the AAP and Congress, both part of the INDIA bloc parties, initiated a protest.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal called the election a “brazen, shameless capture of the democratic system”.
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.
How did the BJP react?
BJP president J P Nadda took a dig at the opposition’s unity efforts. “That the ‘INDI 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.
Chandigarh Mayoral Polls
In the elections held on January 30, BJP's Manoj Sonkar defeated AAP's Kuldeep Kumar.
The AAP had joined forces with the Congress for the elections, and together they had more votes in the 35-member assembly compared to the BJP.
In the election results, Manoj Sonkar secured 16 votes, while Kumar managed to secure 12. Eight votes were declared invalid.
The newly elected mayor will now oversee the elections for the positions of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, with the Congress nominating candidates for these roles.
The BJP holds 14 seats in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, while the AAP and Congress have 13 and seven councillors, respectively. The Shiromani Akali Dal is represented by one councillor.
(With PTI inputs)
