Black day, murder of democracy, say Bhagwant Mann, Raghav Chadha after 8 votes of INDIA alliance declared invalid during Chandigarh mayoral polls

The leaders say they are moving court, demanding that the illegal electoral fraud should be set aside

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha (left) and Congress leader Pawan Bansal while addressing a press conference, in Chandigarh, January 30, 2024. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, January 30

Tearing into the BJP after a setback in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and former Congress MP from the city Pawan Bansal said that what happened was ‘totally illegal’.

Addressing a joint press conference, the leaders of the two alliance partners of INDI alliance, said that “a murder of democracy” was witnessed in the polls.

“Right from the beginning, the BJP’s intention of rigging the elections was clear,” said Chadha.

“The office bearer of BJP was the presiding officer in the elections. The election agents of the parties in the fray were not allowed near the table when the counting was being done. The presiding officer himself marked the voting slips, and declared eight votes of our members as invalid. The invalid votes were not shown to anybody, and the presiding officer took away the votes,” alleged Chadha.

Bansal said that what happened was akin to Jungle Raj. “The BJP had 14 Councillors, one MP vote and one SAD councillor’s vote. We had 20 votes, and we knew we would defeat BJP. This was the first election of INDI alliance. They first tried to wean away our councillors, where they failed. Perturbed, they played dirty in the polls today. They also barred the entry of media from the MC house,” he said.

The leaders demanded that a case be registered against presiding officer Anil Masih and he be arrested.

Chadha said the elections on Tuesday should teach the people of the country to vote this time to save democracy. If the BJP is not stopped in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, we will no longer remain a democracy, but become a dictatorship, he added.

“We are moving the court, demanding that the illegal electoral fraud should be set aside. A free and fair election should be held, by appointing a retired HC judge as a presiding officer,” the leaders said.

Meanwhile, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann alleged cheating in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, saying it's Black Day for the country's democracy.

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