Chandigarh, Jan 30 (PTI) The AAP on Tuesday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking setting aside the mayoral poll results and demanding fresh elections under the supervision of a retired HC judge.
The development came hours after the BJP swept Chandigarh mayoral polls, retaining all the three posts, in a setback to the Congress-AAP alliance which has alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer.
The petition was filed by AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar, who was the candidate for the mayor post, according to party sources.
The petitioner sought setting aside the process of the election of mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, alleging “complete fraud and forgery”, the sources said.
Councillors from the two INDIA bloc parties created a ruckus in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation House as the result for the mayor’s post was declared, and boycotted the next phase elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.
BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar defeated the AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar for the mayor’s post, polling 16 votes against the 12 won by his rival. Eight votes were declared invalid.
BJP nominees Kuljit Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma were declared elected to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively as they secured 16 votes each.
Opposition councillors alleged there was tampering with the ballot papers at the elections, a charge rubbished by the BJP.
Mr Kejriwal posted on X, “The manner in which dishonesty has been done in broad daylight in the Chandigarh mayor elections is extremely worrying. If these people can stoop so low in a mayor’s election, then they can go to any extent in the country’s elections. This is very worrying…”
चंडीगढ़ मेयर चुनाव में दिन दहाड़े बेईमानी करके भाजपा को जिता दिया गया। देश के लोकतंत्र के लिए ये गुंडागर्दी बेहद ख़तरनाक है। https://t.co/dKfJcoEdeM
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 30, 2024
Apart from setting aside the mayoral poll result, the AAP’s plea also sought directions for holding fresh elections in a free and fair manner under the supervision of a retired judge of the high court so as to ensure that “no malpractice” is done, the sources said.
It also demanded investigation by an independent agency into the “entire fraud” committed during the election process, they said.
The petitioner also sought directions for sealing and preserving the entire process of election, including the record of ballot papers and proceedings of the election process and videography held on Tuesday, they added.
