AAP moves Supreme Court over Chandigarh mayor polls

On Tuesday, the BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral poll after the chair scrapped eight Opposition’s votes in a controversial decision, sparking allegations of vote tampering

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Kuldeep Dhalor, who lost Tuesday’s Chandigarh mayoral election, moved the Supreme Court on Thursday against Punjab and Haryana high court’s refusal to grant an immediate stay on election result in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Manoj Sonkar was declared the mayor.

Aam Aadmi Party councillor Kuldeep Dhalor, who was AAP’s candidate for the post of mayor, had challenged the decision in the high court on Wednesday. (HT File)

On Tuesday, the BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral poll after the chair scrapped eight Opposition’s votes in a controversial decision, sparking allegations of vote tampering.

Dhalor, who was AAP’s candidate for the post of mayor, challenged the decision in the high court on Wednesday. The court, however, refused to stay the election and listed the matter for hearing after three weeks. The AAP councillor has now challenged the HC’s decision in the SC, alleging that presiding officer Anil Masih did not allow the nominees of the contesting parties to monitor vote counting.

In his petition, the AAP councillor alleged that the presiding officer acted in a “flimsy” manner as there was video evidence to show that votes kept in separate baskets of the two candidates and a separate one for invalid votes were shuffled that compromised the entire election process. He further stated that the nominee of the parties were not allowed to inspect the invalid votes and even the reason for invalidating the votes was not made known.

“The high court ought to have stayed the results of the election and ordered the ballot papers and other electoral paraphernalia be taken into custody so as to preserve it for the purposes of determining the legality of the elections.... By not granting any interim relief, the high court has allowed the fraud to continue,” the plea said.

It plea added that allowing BJP’s Manoj Sonkar to continue as a mayor “effectively validates a corrupt practice in gross violation of the paramount principle of democracy – free and fair elections, and thereby erodes public trust”.

Masih gets security cover

Meanwhile, Chandigarh Police have provided round-the-clock police cover to Masih.

“Considering the sensitivity of the situation and the protests, one cop has been deputed to guard him at all times,” said Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur.

Masih alleged that he had received threats from Congress and AAP party leaders. “I am worried about my family and my security,” he said, speaking to HT.

Masih has been a key member of BJP’s Chandigarh unit since 2015, regularly attending all party events. He is currently the general secretary of the party’s minority wing.