Chandigarh mayoral polls: Black day for democracy, BJP got their candidate elected by force, says Arvind Kejriwal : The Tribune India

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Chandigarh mayoral polls: Black day for democracy, BJP got their candidate elected by force, says Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

PTI

New Delhi, January 30

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday alleged that the BJP indulged in "hooliganism" during the Chandigarh mayoral polls, and called the series of events during the election a "black day for democracy".

His reaction came after the BJP swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls, winning all three posts, including of the mayor, defeating the Congress-AAP alliance.

Addressing a press conference here, the AAP national convener said the entire country saw what happened in the Chandigarh mayoral polls.

"It is a black day for democracy. Everyone saw how they stole votes and forcibly made their candidate win. The issue is not who becomes mayor but the country should not lose and the democracy should not lose. Mayors come and go, parties come and go," he said.

In the mayoral polls, BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar (16 votes) defeated the AAP's Kuldeep Kumar (12 votes). Eight votes were declared invalid.

In Chandigarh, the councillors of the INDIA bloc parties -- AAP and Congress -- protested as soon as the results were announced.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in "hooliganism" in full public view, Kejriwal said if people do not stop it together it will be extremely "dangerous" for the nation.

"The AAP-Congress alliance had a clear majority and it was a straight election. Eight votes or 25 per cent of the total votes were declared invalid. What kind of election was this? The mayoral poll result shows there is something wrong and at a large scale, they can go to any extent in national polls," he alleged.

Kejriwal said the BJP-led Centre is "resorting" to extreme actions to target opposition leaders, breaking parties and toppling governments.

"This means that they are not getting a majority in Lok Sabha polls. The INDIA bloc is strong. If the Chandigarh mayor elections were conducted honestly, the INDIA bloc would have registered its first win today," he said.