The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has declared plans to stage a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Headquarters in Delhi on February 2, alleging rigging in the Chandigarh mayoral election held recently. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, along with newly-appointed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is expected to participate in the protest.
Following the mayoral polls in which BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar won with 16 votes against AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar’s 12 votes, the AAP moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking fresh elections supervised by a retired judge. The INDIA bloc, comprising AAP and Congress councillors in Chandigarh, raised concerns after eight of their votes were declared invalid.
Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of “hooliganism” during the Chandigarh mayoral polls, denouncing the events as a “black day for democracy.” He highlighted the significant number of invalid votes, questioning the election’s integrity and asserting that the AAP-Congress alliance had a clear majority.
Kejriwal warned against persistent such actions, expressing concerns for the nation’s well-being. He alleged that the BJP-led Centre was resorting to extreme measures to target opposition leaders, indicating a lack of majority in national polls.
In response, BJP leader Pralhad Joshi dismissed the INDIA bloc as “brain dead,” and BJP chief JP Nadda claimed the BJP’s victory showcased the failure of the INDIA bloc’s calculations. Punjab BJP leader Jaiveer Shergill labelled the AAP-Congress alliance a “thugbandhan” (an alliance of thugs) and celebrated the BJP’s victory as a triumph of democracy over corruption.
Notably, BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar secured victory in the Chandigarh mayoral election, and Rajinder Kumar was later elected as the deputy mayor after AAP and Congress councillors abstained from voting.
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