Despite the numbers, AAP & Congress lose to BJP in Chandigarh mayoral polls

New Delhi: BJP on Tuesday snatched victory from the AAP-Congress alliance in the Chandigarh Mayor elections after the votes of their eight councillors were declared invalid, which the combine claims is “illegal” and “worrying” as it can raise “serious questions about the integrity” of Lok Sabha elections.

Manoj Sonkar of the BJP defeated Kuldeep Kumar, the AAP-Congress alliance candidate, by 16-12 votes after eight votes were declared invalid. AAP (12) and Congress (8) together have 20 councillors while the BJP has 14 councillors as well as Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher who can vote in the election. Akali Dali has one vote.

AAP’s Raghav Chadha and Congress’s Pawan Bansal claimed that presiding officer Anil Masih is a member of BJP’s minority wing and he declared eight of the 20 AAP-Congress votes invalid after claiming that their ballots had ink marking outside the stipulated area. They also alleged counting agents of parties were not allowed and they were not shown the ballots which the presiding officer declared invalid.

Both leaders also demanded action against Masih and others involved in the incident. They alleged the election was “rigged” and the Punjab High Court should initiate a probe into the incident.

How serious the BJP had taken this election was evident from BJP president JP Nadda himself taking to 'X' to congratulate the Chandigarh BJP unit saying, “that the 'INDI Alliance' fought their first electoral battle and still lost to BJP shows that neither their arithmetic is working nor their chemistry.”

AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal countered 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.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the "brazen misuse of electoral machinery" at the behest of BJP in the mayoral polls will "further erode the confidence of people" in free and fair elections. "As I said yesterday, 2024 is the last chance for us to save democracy. If we do not come together, to save it from BJP, our future generations shall repent. On Gandhi-ji’s martyrdom day, Godse worshipper BJP has murdered democracy and all ethos of the Constitution," he posted on X.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal too joined in the attack against BJP, saying, "brazen, shameless capture of the democratic system. Declaring opposition votes invalid to win the Mayor Election in Chandigarh shows that it is second nature for the BJP to override the democratic mandate. First they abruptly postponed the elections, and then devised a way to capture it. This is a warning for all those who are deluded into thinking that the Modi-led BJP will allow democracy to function if they win in 2024."

A “deeply worried” AAP General Secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak said, “if these malpractices can occur in a local election, it raises serious questions about the integrity of our national elections. This is extremely alarming and calls for a thorough examination of our electoral processes.”

The polls were held under controversial circumstances after an intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The January 18 polls were initially deferred to February 6 citing illness of the presiding officer, prompting the AAP to approach the court, which directed polls on January 30.

AAP and Congress had entered into an alliance in Chandigarh with the former taking the mayor's seat and Congress given senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor posts. With the numbers on their side, it was considered a cakewalk, but the invalidation of eight votes did the job for the BJP.