Chandigarh Mayoral Polls: Arvind Kejriwal 'Reveals' How BJP Defeated AAP-Congress Candidate

The Chandigarh mayoral election result sarked protests by the opposition councillors, who accused the presiding officer of invalidating eight votes in favour of the BJP.

New Delhi: BJP’s Manoj Sonkar emerged victorious in the Chandigarh mayoral polls on Tuesday, defeating Kuldeep Kumar, the joint candidate of the AAP-Congress alliance. The result sparked protests by the opposition councillors, who accused the presiding officer of invalidating eight votes in favour of the BJP. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal expressed his concern over the alleged cheating in the mayoral polls, saying that it was a sign of how low the BJP can go in the national elections. He posted his statement on ‘X’ in Hindi, calling the cheating a “broad daylight robbery”.

The mayoral polls were conducted as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, after they were postponed due to the presiding officer’s illness. The polls were seen as a test of strength for the INDIA bloc, which had formed an alliance to challenge the BJP in the city. Sonkar secured 16 votes, while Kumar got 12 votes. Eight votes were declared invalid by the presiding officer, who claimed that they were marked with a different pen. The opposition councillors disputed this claim and demanded a recount, but their plea was rejected.

चंडीगढ़ मेयर चुनाव में दिन दहाड़े बेईमानी करके भाजपा को जिता दिया गया। देश के लोकतंत्र के लिए ये गुंडागर्दी बेहद ख़तरनाक है। https://t.co/dKfJcoEdeM — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 30, 2024

Sonkar, the newly elected mayor, will now conduct the elections for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The AAP had fielded its candidate for the mayor’s post, while the Congress had nominated its candidates for the other two posts.