Chandigarh mayoral polls: SC to hear explanation from election officials today; mayor resigns, three AAP councilors join BJP

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea on Monday (February 19) alleging irregularities in the recently held Chandigarh mayoral election. The Supreme Court will hear from returning officer Anil Masih that he “tarnished the votes” at the polls.

A bench chaired by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud will today hear the plea filed by India Group mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar, according to the cause of action list published on the Supreme Court’s website.

Kumar accused the presiding judge of resorting to fraud and forgery in the counting of votes.

The Supreme Court on February 5 came down heavily on the election official in charge of the Chandigarh mayoral election, saying he had clearly defaced the ballot papers and should be prosecuted, adding that his actions amounted to “murder and mockery of democracy” “.

In addition to requiring election officials to appear in person for the next hearing in the case on Feb. 19, the court also ordered that ballots and videos of the voting process be preserved.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, who headed a three-judge bench, was shocked and had said that the courts would not allow democracy to be murdered like this if the Supreme Court Not satisfied with the purity of the election, a new election will be ordered. The polling process.

The AAP and the Congress welcomed the court’s opinion, calling it a “slap” on the face of the BJP. Opposition lawmakers had earlier accused Speaker Anil Masi of tampering with votes, but the BJP refuted the charge.

AAP vs BJP at Chandigarh MCD

Hours ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, BJP leader Manoj Sonkar resigned as mayor while three AAP MPs joined the saffron party.

Chandigarh BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra said Sankar submitted his resignation to the municipal commissioner on Sunday.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Arun Sood said that three AAP MPs – Neha, Poonam and Gurcharan Kala — joined the BJP in the presence of senior leader of the party Vinod Tawde.

Whenever a new mayoral poll is held, the defection of three AAP councilors will tip the scales in favor of the BJP.

Before joining, the BJP had 14 councilors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and 13 councilors in the AAP. Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, a member of the BJP, also has voting rights as an ex-officio member of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

Congress has seven members and Shiromani Akali Dal has one member.

Chandigarh mayoral polls

The BJP’s resounding victory in the January 30 Chandigarh mayoral polls was a setback for the Congress-AAP alliance, which alleged that presiding officials had tampered with votes.

Sankar contested for the mayor’s post by defeating AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar by 16 votes to his opponent’s 12 votes. Eight of the votes were declared invalid.

Kumar later moved the Supreme Court.