BJP leader Manoj Sonkar resigned from his position as the Mayor of Chandigarh, which came just before a crucial Supreme Court hearing related to alleged tampering in the mayoral election. Sonkar had won the election, which was seen as a significant battle against the INDIA bloc, defeating Kuldeep Kumar from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on January 30.
During the election, BJP secured 16 votes, while Kuldeep Singh, the joint candidate of the Congress and AAP, managed to gather 12 votes. However, 8 votes were declared invalid, leading to contention between the BJP and the opposition.
Adding to the turmoil, three councillors from AAP – Poonam Devi, Neha, and Gurcharan Kala – switched sides and joined the BJP. With these additions, BJP’s strength in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation rose to 17, along with support from one Shiromani Akali Dal councillor and the voting rights of BJP’s Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, bringing their total to 19.
The AAP now holds 10 councillors, while its ally Congress has seven. The aftermath of the election saw chaos in the House, with accusations of cheating and irregularities in the electoral process. The opposition alleged that the presiding officer, Anil Masih, was caught tampering with ballot papers, a charge vehemently denied by the BJP.
The Supreme Court, appalled by the alleged tampering, ordered the preservation of the ballots and the video of the electoral proceedings, calling the incident a mockery of democracy. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressed dismay after viewing a video of the counting, criticizing Masih’s actions.
The court summoned Masih to appear before it on February 19, further intensifying the scrutiny on the electoral process. The AAP and Congress hailed the court’s observations as a setback for the BJP.
The mayoral poll, initially slated for January 18, faced delays due to the presiding officer’s illness, ultimately taking place on February 6. The High Court, while dismissing the order to postpone the elections, deemed it unreasonable and arbitrary.
Earlier, the AAP had sought fresh elections under the supervision of a retired judge, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to grant interim relief. Subsequently, Kuldeep Kumar, the defeated AAP candidate, approached the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision, adding another layer of legal complexity to the contentious election process.
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