'Cheating': AAP Cries Foul After BJP's Manoj Sonkar Beats AAP-Cong Candidate in Chandigarh Mayoral Poll

Chandigarh: A controversy has arisen after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Manoj Sonkar on Tuesday defeated Aam Aadmi Party's Kuldeep Kumar, who was fielded as part of an alliance with the Congress, to win the post of mayor in the Chandigarh mayoral polls. The AAP has called foul, with AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal calling the results fraudulent. 

Sonkar polled 16 votes while Kumar secured 12. Eight votes were declared invalid.

Councillors of INDIA bloc parties, AAP and Congress, protested as soon as the results were announced. From Delhi, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of "cheating".  

The newly elected mayor will hold the elections for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

As part of the alliance, the AAP was contesting for the mayor's post while the Congress has fielded candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

Kejriwal wrote on X, "The way dishonesty has taken place in the Chandigarh mayoral election in broad daylight is extremely alarming. If these individuals can stoop to such levels in a mayoral election, then in the country's elections, they can go to any extent. This is highly concerning." He also held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon expressing these concerns.

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

Kejriwal further reposted a post on X by AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha. Sharing a video that purportedly shows the BJP's presiding officer at the said polling, Jha alleged that the presiding officer made the votes invalid, which helped the BJP win.

The polls, being held following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, assume significance with opposition INDIA bloc members Congress and AAP joining hands, even though they are yet to agree on seat-sharing in Punjab.

The election of the mayor is done through secret ballots.

The BJP has 14 councillors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor. 

Tight security arrangements are in place for the mayoral polls. Around 700 police personnel, along with those from paramilitary forces, have been deployed for maintaining law and order during the election at the municipal corporation building, officials said.

The polls were originally scheduled for January 18 but were deferred to February 6 by the Chandigarh administration after the presiding officer fell ill. The administration had at that time also said the polls were postponed after assessing the law-and-order situation.

The administration's order deferring the polls had triggered protests by Congress and AAP councillors.

Kuldeep Kumar had challenged the Chandigarh deputy commissioner's order to defer the elections in the high court.

In its January 24 order, the high court directed the Chandigarh administration to hold the mayoral polls at 10 am on January 30. It also quashed the administration's January 18 order postponing the elections while holding it "unreasonable, unjustified and arbitrary".

The high court had also directed that the councillors who come to cast their votes shall not be accompanied by any supporters or security personnel belonging to any other state.

The Chandigarh Police will ensure security to the councillors, the court had said.

The police had also been asked to ensure that no ruckus or untoward incident takes place on or around the civic body premises during or after the election process.

[With PTI inputs]