Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar resigns amid allegations of rigged elections
Chandigarh: On the eve of the upcoming Supreme Court hearing on the Chandigarh mayoral elections, the BJP's Manoj Sonkar today resigned as mayor. The mayoral election issue will be heard by the Supreme Court on February 19. Moreover, Anil Masih, who performed his duties as Speaker during these elections, has been summoned to appear in court in person. Notably, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party had accused Masih of damaging ballot papers and later declaring them invalid during the Chandigarh mayoral election, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
Chandigarh Mayral Elections 2023: What Happened?
Councilors of the INDIA bloc parties, AAP and Congress, protested as soon as the results were announced. From Delhi, AAP president Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of 'cheating'. The newly elected mayor holds elections for the positions of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.
As part of the alliance, the AAP contested for the mayor's post while the Congress fielded candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The polls, which are being held as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, assume significance as the members of the INDIA bloc, the Congress and the AAP, are joining hands even as they are yet to agree on seat sharing in Punjab.
The BJP has 14 councilors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. The AAP has 13 councilors and the Congress has seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councilor.
In a post on 'X', Kejriwal expressed his “grave concern” over the “cheat” perpetrated in broad daylight. “If these people can stoop to this level in a mayoral election, at least they can do it in the national elections,” the Delhi Chief Minister said in an apparent reference to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“This is very concerning,” he said. There are strict security arrangements for the mayoral elections.
Around 700 police personnel, along with people from paramilitary forces, have been deployed to maintain law and order during the elections at the Municipal Corporation building, officials said.
The elections were originally scheduled for January 18, but were postponed to February 6 by the Chandigarh government after the chairman fell ill. The government had also said at the time that the elections had been postponed after assessing the law and order situation. The government's order to postpone the elections had led to protests from the Congress and AAP councilors.
Kuldeep Kumar had challenged the Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner's order to postpone the elections in the Supreme Court.
In its January 24 order, the Supreme Court directed the Chandigarh government to hold the mayoral elections on January 30 at 10 am. It also quashed the government's January 18 order to postpone the elections, deeming them “unreasonable, unjustified and arbitrary”. The Supreme Court had also ruled that the councilors coming to cast their votes should not be accompanied by supporters or security personnel of any other state.
The Chandigarh Police will ensure the safety of the council members, the court said. The police had also been asked to ensure that no ruckus or untoward incident takes place on or around the premises of the civic body during or after the election process.
Elections for the three posts are held every year during the House's five-year term. The Congress had abstained in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP's victory in the polls. The election of the mayor is done by secret ballot.
AAP, Congress mutually decided to go solo to Punjab: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal refuted rumors that all is well in opposition bloc INDIA and said on Sunday that it is a “mutual decision” of the AAP and Congress to go solo to Punjab for the Lok Sabha elections, and that there are no differences be between them. .
Speaking to reporters about AAP's decision to go it alone in Punjab, Kejriwal, who met Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi over lunch, said the decision was mutual and there is no animosity over it.
The Chief Minister said the AAP is in seat-sharing talks with the Congress in Delhi as it will make things easy for the BJP if it is not opted for. In the past decade, the BJP has won all seven parliamentary seats in the national capital.
Earlier, when Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced AAP's decision to contest all 13 seats in the state, Punjab Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said this is exactly what the grand old party wants.
Recently, in an interview to a private TV channel, Bajwa said, “We cannot go with AAP in Punjab because AAP is the ruling party and Congress is in opposition. Reacting to the development, the BJP termed the opposition alliance as 'opportunistic'.
(With input from agencies)