- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
LEADERS of several opposition parties of India on Tuesday (30) slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of prime minister Narendra Modi accusing it of rigging the mayoral election in Chandigarh, a north Indian city as well as a Union Territory.
The BJP swept the elections retaining the top three posts, delivering a blow to opponents parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Indian National Congress that had contested the elections together. The BJP’s Manoj Sonkar (16 votes) defeated the AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar (12 votes) in the election to the post of the mayor. Eight votes were declared invalid.
Opposition councillors alleged there was tampering with the ballot papers after eight votes were declared invalid, a charge rubbished by the BJP.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi and the convenor of the AAP, said the result of the election marked a “black day” for Indian democracy. His reaction came after the BJP’s candidate defeated the joint opponent fielded by the opposition INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc which was formed last year to challenge Modi and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
It was the first major electoral face-off between the BJP and INDIA bloc.
Other opposition parties such as the Congress, Samajwadi Party and others also lashed out at the BJP, alleging that it was killing the country’s democracy and disregarding the constitutional propriety.
“The brazen misuse of electoral machinery at the behest of BJP in the Chandigarh mayoral polls will further erode the confidence of people in free and fair elections,” said Congress president and chairperson of the INDIA bloc, Mallikarjun Kharge.
“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,” the 81-year-old leader said in a post on X.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “It is beyond imagination what the BJP, which can kill democracy in front of the entire world in the mayor elections, will do to remain in power in Delhi.
“Years ago, on this day, Godse had assassinated Gandhiji and today Godse-vadis sacrificed his ideals and constitutional values,” he added, linking the day which marked the 76th death anniversary of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi with the mayoral election result in Chandigarh.
The AAP, however, moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, urging it to set aside the poll results and demanding fresh elections under the supervision of a retired high court judge. Other parties also urged the apex court to intervene.
Not only the Election Commission of India, but the Supreme Court, as the guardian of the Constitution, should immediately take cognisance of the same and annul the election, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said.
After being forced to conduct the polls by the High Court’s intervention, the BJP resorted to “hijacking” the polls as it feared defeat at the hands of the INDIA alliance, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.
“We will take the fight against BJP’s ‘anyay’ (injustice) to the courts and the people. We will fight for ‘nyay’ (justice) for Chandigarh,” the veteran Congress MP said.
Kejriwal said if Chandigarh mayor elections were conducted honestly, the INDIA bloc would have registered its first win today. He expressed “serious concern” over the “cheating” in “broad daylight” and alleged the BJP indulged in “hooliganism” during the mayoral polls.
“The issue is not who becomes mayor but the country should not lose and the democracy should not lose … If people do not stop it together it will be extremely dangerous” for the nation,” the AAP chief said.
In a video that surfaced after the election results were announced, Kuldeep Kumar was seen crying and his family members consoling him.
The AAP and Congress protested as soon as the results were announced and boycotted the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. BJP nominees Kuljit Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma were declared elected to these posts.
(With PTI inputs)
