New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the BJP alleging “shameless capture” of the democratic system in the country, after the ruling party candidate won the Chandigarh mayoral election defeating the INDIA bloc nominee.
The BJP swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls retaining the three top posts in a setback to the AAP and the Congress which had contested the elections as allies.
“Brazen, shameless capture of the democratic system. Declaring opposition votes invalid to win the Mayor Election in Chandigarh shows that it is second nature for the BJP to override the democratic mandate,” AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said in a post on X.
“First they abruptly postponed the elections, and then devised a way to capture it. This is a warning for all those who are deluded into thinking that the Modi-led BJP will allow democracy to function if they win in 2024,” he said.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also said, “That the BJP chose January 30 to kill Democracy in Chandigarh does not come as a surprise.”
After the BJP won the election, councillors from the two INDIA bloc parties protested in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation House as the result for the mayor’s post was declared, and boycotted the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.
BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar defeated the AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar for the mayor’s post, polling 16 votes against the 12 won by his rival. Eight votes were declared invalid.
BJP nominees Kuljit Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma were declared elected to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.
Opposition councilors alleged there was tampering with the ballot papers in the elections, a charge rubbished by the BJP.
In a social media post, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal expressed “serious concern” over the “cheating” in “broad daylight”.
