Supreme Court Raises Concerns over Controversial Chandigarh Mayoral Election

CFDRA Admin

9 months ago

The Controversy of Chandigarh Mayoral Election

In the wake of allegations of misconduct and the disqualification of eight votes in the recent Chandigarh mayoral election, the Supreme Court of India has decided to further investigate the matter. The election, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Manoj Sonkar emerged victorious against the Aam Aadmi Party’s Kuldeep Kumar, has come under scrutiny because of reported misconduct by the returning officer, Anil Masih.

During Monday’s hearing, the Supreme Court raised concerns about the Returning Officer Anil Masih’s decision to disqualify eight votes.

The Supreme Court of India will dive into the contested Chandigarh mayoral election, reviewing both invalidated ballots and video footage from the counting day. This follows allegations of misconduct against the returning officer Anil Masih, who reportedly marked ballots himself, an act he admitted before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Monday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the controversial Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Kumar was expected to clinch the mayoral seat with support from the Congress party but Manoj Sonkar of the BJP emerged victorious after polling 16 votes against his rival’s 12. Eight votes were declared invalid.

The AAP and Congress boycotted the subsequent election for the deputy mayor and senior deputy mayor, which BJP eventually won.

Kumar challenged the election results in the Supreme Court alleging poll rigging and submitted the video of the electoral proceedings. After watching the video, the court said, prima facie, the returning officer was defacing the ballot papers and asked him to appear on February 19.

A day before the hearing, Sonkar resigned as Chandigarh mayor and three AAP Councillors joined the BJP.

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