In the mayoral polls, BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar (16 votes) defeated the AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar (12 votes). Eight votes were declared invalid.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday listed a slew of allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the saffron camp swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls, winning all the three posts including of mayor, defeating the Congress-AAP alliance. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the BJP indulged in “hooliganism” during the Chandigarh mayoral polls, and called the series of events during the election a “black day for democracy”.
In the mayoral polls, BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar (16 votes) defeated the AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar (12 votes). Eight votes were declared invalid.
#WATCH | Chandigarh Mayor election | Delhi: CM Arvind Kejriwal says, “Gandhiji was assassinated on this date and after 76 years, they (BJP) have murdered the democracy… It is a black day for democracy. They did hooliganism openly and it is captured on camera. The whole country… pic.twitter.com/O0OsNsQjyZ
— ANI (@ANI) January 30, 2024
Addressing a press conference here, the AAP national convener said the entire country saw what happened in the Chandigarh mayoral polls. “It is a black day for democracy. Everyone saw how they stole votes and forcibly made their candidate win. The issue is not who becomes mayor but the country should not lose and the democracy should not lose. Mayors come and go, parties come and go,” he said.
In Chandigarh, the councillors of the INDIA bloc parties — AAP and Congress — protested as soon as the results were announced. Accusing the BJP of indulging in “hooliganism” in full public view, Kejriwal said if people do not stop it together it will be extremely “dangerous” for the nation.
“The AAP-Congress alliance had a clear majority and it was a straight election. Eight votes or 25 per cent of the total votes were declared invalid. What kind of election was this? The mayoral poll result shows there is something wrong and at a large scale, they can go to any extent in national polls,” he alleged.
Kejriwal said the BJP-led Centre is “resorting” to extreme actions to target opposition leaders, breaking parties and toppling governments.
“This means that they are not getting a majority in Lok Sabha polls. The INDIA bloc is strong. If the Chandigarh mayor elections were conducted honestly, the INDIA bloc would have registered its first win today,” he said.