The two allies have claimed that the presiding officer, a BJP councillor nominated, interfered with the ballot papers in order to give the BJP an undue advantage. Manoj Sonkar, the BJP candidate for mayor, received 16 votes, four more than Kuldeep Dhalor, the AAP-Congress candidate. Interestingly, eight votes were ruled to be void.
A lot of people have expressed concern and doubt about the entire electoral process due to the comparatively large percentage of illegitimate votes. Increased openness could have avoided this shady scenario, particularly in light of the Congress-AAP claim that their representative was not permitted to look at the ballots.
Source: Tribune India
The Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered that Tuesday’s elections be held after they were controversially postponed on January 18. At that moment, the presiding officer was allegedly unwell. The order to postpone the elections was annulled by the court, which described it as “unreasonable, unjustified, and arbitrary.
“The mayoral elections were expected to be the final significant confrontation between the BJP and the INDIA alliance prior to the Lok Sabha Elections. Together, the AAP and the Congress—which are at odds with one another in Punjab—had attempted to topple the BJP regime in Chandigarh.
Source: India Today
The results of the poll have been contested before the supreme court, and the presiding officer’s function has been closely scrutinised. Finding out if the due procedure was adhered to precisely during the election process is essential. Any political party that engages in unfair or deceptive tactics not only tramples on the spirit of democracy but also prevents a level playing field. Although ballot confidentiality must be upheld, it shouldn’t be abused to produce opacity.
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