Chandigarh Mayor Polls: AAP, Congress Stage Protest Over 'Illegal' Rejection Of Votes — WATCH

Several councillors of AAP, Congress protested outside the Mayor office in Chandigarh. On Tuesday, BJP's Manoj Sonkar defeated the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress candidate, Kuldeep Singh.

BJP Manoj Sonkar greeted by party councillors after he won the post of Mayor in the Chandigarh municipal corporation polls.

Source : PTI

Aam Aadmi Party and Congress councillors staged a protest on Wednesday outside the mayor's office in Chandigarh against alleged irregularities in the mayoral election results. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Sonkar won in the election for the top civic body post on Tuesday.

#WATCH | Aam Aadmi Party and Congress councillors protest against mayor election results in Chandigarh pic.twitter.com/QjfjpsXBl8

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2024

Following the election, the AAP and the Congress shared a video which showed presiding officer  Anil Masih seemingly rejecting some ballots. The AAP alleged that Masih rejected 25% of the AAP councillors' ballots without any reason as he is the head of the BJP's minority wing. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said: "Masih didn't have a spine. He lacks courage. If he had a spine, he would have counted the votes correctly."

Following chaos due to the protest on Wednesday, Chandigarh Police were seen detaining and dragging Youth Congress members into a police bus during the protest. The police detained several protesters. 

#WATCH | Chandigarh: Members of Youth Congress protest outside Mayor Office over Chandigarh Mayoral Election.

Police detained the protestors. pic.twitter.com/gsZ0X64oh1

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2024

However, the BJP hasmaintained that the "victory" was fair and was another jolt for the I.N.D.I.A bloc.

BJP's Manoj Sonkar defeated the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress candidate, Kuldeep Singh. He received 16 votes, while Singh got 12 votes. Eight votes were declared invalid. Youth Congress workers sat to protest outside the mayor office, during which one member said, “How can you face people after winning by defrauding people? We came here for answers but they have the police force to stand guard, looking at this we are scared thinking about the fate of our children and brothers and sisters if they win again in 2024.”

VIDEO | Youth Congress workers sit on protest outside the mayor office in #Chandigarh against alleged fraud in mayoral elections which were held yesterday.#ChandigarhMayorElections pic.twitter.com/OTqVOTouFi

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 31, 2024

He further appealed to people of the country that if they want to fight against this government, they will have to come together. 

According to ANI, the AAP and Congress filed a petition in the Punjab-Haryana High Court highlighting concerns over the integrity of the recently conducted mayoral elections in Chandigarh. The court is set to hear the matter on Wednesday. AAP termed the poll as "unconstitutional and illegal" and an act of "deshdroh" (treason).

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi alleged that rules, law, democracy, its dignity and the Constitution were kept aside for the sake of power.

चंडीगढ़ मेयर चुनाव में लोकतंत्र को जिस तरह से कुचला गया है, वह पूरे देश के सामने है। सत्ता के लिए नियम, कानून, लोकतंत्र, इसकी मर्यादा और संविधान को ताक पर रख दिया।

देश की जनता देख रही है कि एक नगर तक की व्यवस्था में भी विपक्ष और जनता की आवाज को खुलेआम दबाया जा रहा है। अगर… pic.twitter.com/9DKPbQA3AH

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) January 31, 2024

The Congress General Secretary posted on X, “The way democracy has been crushed in the Chandigarh Mayor elections is in front of the entire country. Rules, law, democracy, its dignity and the Constitution were kept aside for the sake of power.”

She further added, “The people of the country are seeing that even in the system of one city, the voice of the opposition and the public is being openly suppressed. If they can go to this extent in local bodies, then how can the public trust them in state and central elections? Doubt is spreading on a large scale among the public.”

Similarly, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that there was brazen misuse of electoral machinery at the behest of the BJP in the Chandigarh Mayoral polls.