The BJP-SAD alliance in Punjab alleged on Sunday, 15 October, that the ruling Congress party won the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha by-election by misusing the government machinery.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which finished a distant third, too, made similar allegations against the Congress. AAP nominee former Major Gen Suresh Khajuria accused the Congress party of using “undemocratic means” to win the by-election.
They won by misusing the machinery. Everyone knows that even the sarpanches owing allegiance to the BJP and the SAD were warned that they will be dealt with strictly if the two allies got a lead in their respective areas in the bypoll. Civic body officials, too, were warned.Vineet Joshi, Punjab BJP secretary
None of the parties offered any evidence to support their allegations.
Congress’ Sunil Jakhar won the bypoll necessitated following the death of BJP MP from the seat, Vinod Khanna, in April. Jakhar defeated BJP’s Swaran Salaria by over 1,90,000 votes.
Joshi and Salaria, however, said they will now request Jakhar to ensure the development of Gurdaspur constituency.
Commenting on the results of the bypoll, senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra said:
It is not a victory of democracy, but it is victory of government machinery being misused. The fact that the poll percentage in a LS bypoll was as low as 56 per cent raises eyebrows. In a general election, this percentage remains over 75 per cent. The poll percentage for bypoll should have been over 80 per cent, but it was just 56 per cent. This means a lot of people were under some kind of threat that they chose to stay away.
AAP's state unit president Bhagwant Mann said his party accepts the mandate and will introspect the reasons for the defeat.
Contrary to Congress' claims, Mann said the bypoll outcome would not set the tone for the 2019 general elections.
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