Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Sonkar became the new Mayor of Chandigarh after the party won the Mayoral election on Tuesday, 30 January. Sonkar got 16 votes against Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Tita, who got 12 votes.
Eight votes, however, were declared invalid, following which Opposition leaders levelled allegation of rigging.
"Whatever we saw during the Chandigarh mayor election that is not only unconstitutional but was treason," AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chaddha said.
As Sonkar was announced as the winner, protests broke out against presiding authority Anil Masih.
The newly elected Mayor, however, refuted the claims.
"Levelling allegations is their (AAP-Congress) job. Wherever they don't have their way, they level allegations," news agency ANI quoted him as saying. "Everything is on camera. But when they couldn't digest their defeat, they created this atmosphere and started blaming us," Sonkar added.
Here's What Happened
The polling process, held in Chandigarh in the presence of Municipal Corporation Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh started at 10 am. BJP MP Kirron Kher, an ex-officio member of the house, cast her vote first.
A total of 36 votes were polled. While the AAP and Congress together had 20 votes, the BJP had 16 votes, including one from the ex-officio member Kher.
In videos, which surfaced after the polling, Presiding Officer Masih was seen leaving the house with rejected votes without showing them to the Councillor agent.
'Democracy Was Looted, Killed Today': AAP, Cong
Meanwhile, AAP councillor has moved Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the Chandigarh Mayoral Election. The Court has allowed listing the matter tomorrow on 31 January, Live Law reported.
On the other hand, Punjab chief minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann said:
"All 16 on their side know how to vote and 8 on our side don't even know to vote!...Democracy was 'looted' today."
Talking about Anil Masih, the head of BJP minority wing, he said that the party made their office bearer, the presiding officer. "On 18 January he said that he had a problem in his spine so he couldn't come (for election). Today, I came to know that he was absolutely right. Actually, he didn't even have a spine. He is spineless. If he had a spine, he would have counted (the votes) properly," added Mann.
AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal echoed Mann's sentiments and noted, "They have killed democracy. With coercion and hooliganism, they have seized the position."
Kejriwal stated that Congress and AAP came together this time in INDIA bloc in these polls which is why it was an important one.
"Parties come and ago, mayors also come and go..but today, in broad daylight, they have forcefully won in Chandigarh. If people don't stop this today, it's going to be very dangerous in the future."Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader & Delhi CM
Additionally, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also came down at the BJP stating that they "resorted to hijacking the polls."
Ramesh wrote, "The foul play by the BJP in today’s Chandigarh Mayoral Election is yet another example of their arrogance, their absolute disregard for Constitutional propriety, and their disdain for democratic processes."
Why Are the Mayoral Polls Important?
The Chandigarh Mayor polls were considered as the first significant electoral battle between BJP and the Opposition's INDIA bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress and AAP announced a pre-poll alliance. Initially scheduled to be held on 18 January, the election was postponed to 6 February after the presiding officer took ill. Opposition Councillors then moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court over the delay in polling, following which, the court directed the elections to be held on 30 January.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)