Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (File).
New Delhi:
Arvind Kejriwal has welcomed the Supreme Court order awarding victory to Aam Aadmi Party’s Kuldeep Kumar in the Chandigarh Mayor elections last month. He also hailed the first significant victory of the India Bloc, which was formed to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections last year but has faced several crises since then.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief then accused the rival Bharatiya Janata Party of being “dictator” and trying to steal the elections. The Delhi Chief Minister also issued a stern warning ahead of the April/May elections, in which more than 90 crore Indians are eligible to vote for the new government.
“The way the Supreme Court brought the ballot papers (to the court) and declared the results… I think this has happened for the first time since independence. We thank the Supreme Court… (India) is a dictatorship. And institutions are being crushed. This decision matters.”
Thanks to SC for saving democracy in these difficult times! #ChandigarhMayorPoll
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) 20 February 2024
“They (BJP) stole the election…we won it back. This is a big victory for India. Those who say BJP cannot be defeated…they should know…yes, they Can do this. I want to congratulate all the partners of India (and) this is also a victory for the people of Chandigarh,” a jubilant Mr Kejriwal told reporters.
“There were votes in this election (and) the BJP stole eight, which is 25 per cent. There will be a big election soon… with more than 90 crore votes. Imagine how many votes they can steal!”
BJP’s Manoj Sonkar was earlier declared the winner of the January 31 election, which controversially saw eight votes – all for the AAP candidate – rejected by returning officer Anil Masih.
Read | Supreme Court declares AAP candidate as mayor of Chandigarh
Earlier today the court found that he had knowingly invalidated the electoral process.
Read | Supreme Court sent notice to Chandigarh Mayor Election Officer
As a result, the Supreme Court created history by declaring the election results in the courtroom instead of the counting centre. In another unprecedented move, it has also initiated contempt of court proceedings against Mr Masih, who was warned of prosecution if caught lying.
Kejriwal said, “His (Mr Masih’s) luck was bad… CCTV cameras were installed and everything was captured on camera. It is clear on what scale they (BJP) steal votes.”
Big victory of AAP and India Block
The victory of AAP and India Bloc is a welcome blow to a group which was, and still is, on the verge of collapse less than a year after it was formed with high expectations.
The bloc faces several challenges, particularly in reaching a seat-sharing deal before the general elections. On this subject, it has been rejected by the Trinamool Congress in Bengal and even Mr Kejriwal’s AAP in Punjab, and it has a tough position with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Read | India’s unity in Uttar Pradesh hinges on Congress’ response
Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar, widely seen as the founder of the India block, has walked out and re-aligned with the BJP, and, in UP, Jayant is understood to have Choudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal has also gone on the same path, despite this an agreement was reached with the Samajwadi Party only last month.
Read | Congress, AAP have “mutually agreed” to contest elections alone in Punjab: Kejriwal
In this backdrop, the AAP-Congress alliance for the Chandigarh elections was seen as a success.
Read | “Scorecard 1-0 for India”: AAP, Congress tie up for key elections
The initial result – ‘defeat’ – was seen as increasing further tensions in India and AAP–Congress relations, which would now be viewed more favourably. But how encouraging it is is not yet clear and will be revealed after the next round of seat sharing talks between the two parties.
with inputs from agencies
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