By-poll cancellation upsets lone nominee

D K Chopra, a resident of upscale Vasant Vihar colony, and K Padmarajan are on top of the list of people who are unhappy with the dissolution of the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday and cancellation of the by-polls to three seats.

Chopra is the lone candidate who filed valid nomination papers from any of the three seats which were scheduled to have by-polls on November 25.

He wanted to contest from the by-polls from Mehrauli seat, under which he is enrolled as a voter.

“The cancellation of the by-polls has disappointed the retired government officer who wanted to serve society through politics,” said Delhi election office sources whom he contacted inquiring about the refund of the Rs 10,000 deposited at the time of filing the papers.

The 61-year-old commerce graduate from Delhi University, who sports a flowing beard, said he would now contest the next Assembly elections whenever these are held, sources said. 

K Padmarajan, 55, a Mehrauli seat aspirant whose nomination papers were rejected seems unaffected.

“I filed the nomination for my World Record of filing papers for 166 elections. I am returning to Tamil Nadu on Thursday morning,” said Padmarajan, a resident of Salem district. 

Cancellation

The November 25 by-polls for three Delhi Assembly seats of Mehrauli, Tughlakabad and Krishna Nagar were cancelled by the Election Commission after President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation dissolving the hung House.

Cancelling the three by-poll notifications dated October 28, an EC notice said “all proceedings having been taken so far in pursuance of the said notifications shall also be deemed to have been rescinded hereby.’

Delhi has been under President’s rule since February 17 following the resignation of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who headed a minority Aam Aadmi Party government for 49 days.

The Delhi election of December 2013 threw up a fractured mandate.