The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on the Chandigarh mayoral elections, terming it a big victory for the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, and said it would go a long way in saving Indian democracy.
AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed a press conference after the SC overturned the result of the election in which the BJP candidate, Manoj Sonkar, had emerged an unlikely winner, and declared the defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the new Chandigarh mayor. “The result of this election is that the BJP is not invincible and it sends a message that if INDIA bloc parties remain united, and work strategically, and put in the hard work, they can defeat the BJP,” he said. If the BJP could “steal” eight votes out of 36 in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, what would it do in the upcoming (Lok Sabha) election in which 90 crore votes will be polled, Mr. Kejriwal asked.
Also read | Travesty in Chandigarh: On mayoral election and the Supreme Court of India’s remarks
The BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30, defeating the AAP-Congress alliance candidate after the returning officer, Anil Masih, a BJP leader, declared eight votes of the coalition partners invalid. The Supreme Court ordered the prosecution of Mr. Masih after finding serious faults in the conduct of the election.
In a post on social media platform X, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: “In the conspiracy to murder democracy by the BJP, Masih is just a ‘pawn’, behind him is the face of Modi.”
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also hailed the SC’s verdict, saying that the BJP had been given a “befitting reply for its blatant wrongdoing” and that “truth finally wins”
Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal in a post on X called the entire election a farce, which has been duly exposed by the SC’s historic verdict. “For 4 months, we have been frequently seeking time from the Election Commission to discuss the issue of complete VVPAT counting, but it has not found any time for us so far. We hope the ECI moves swiftly and takes steps that will improve the people’s faith in the democratic process - not dent it,” he said.
Congress party’s general secretary Sachin Pilot while speaking to reporters said that undermining the Election Commission of India did not augur well. “When authority and credibility of institutions like the Election Commission is undermined, it doesn’t augur well for a democracy. I am surprised that it took the SC to intervene and set the record straight. It should set an example of the future functioning of the EC,” Mr. Pilot said.
Mr. Kejriwal hit out at the BJP for its goal of securing 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. “If parties in a country start saying clearly before elections that they do not need votes and people, then democracy in that country is in great danger. Therefore, 140 crore people of the country will have to come together to save the democracy of the country. It is also clear from this that these people [the BJP] do not win elections, they steal elections. Chandigarh Mayor election has exposed these people in front of the country,” he said.
