Chandigarh Civic Polls

Observing that "horse-trading is taking place", the Supreme Court has said it would peruse on Tuesday the ballot papers of the Chandigarh mayoral polls and the entire video-recording of the counting day, and directed the registrar general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to depute a judicial officer to bring the records safely to Delhi. The top court, on February 5, rapped Returning Officer Anil Masih, who conducted the mayoral polls, observing that it was obvious that he had defaced the ballot papers and that he should be prosecuted, adding that his action amounted to "murder" and a "mockery" of democracy. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the Chandigarh administration on Monday to provide security to the judicial officer, to be appointed by the high court, to ensure the safety of the officer and the records. "We ourselves will look at the records at 2 pm," the bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. "Horse-trading taking ...

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that BJP leader Manoj Sonkar's resignation as Chandigarh mayor shows that they won the elections by using "unfair means". Addressing the media outside the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said, "If the mayor has resigned then it is very obvious that something is suspicious there. It clearly shows that they won the elections by unfair means." "This is how they win other elections too; if they don't, they buy leaders from the winning party. How will a democratic country function if elections are won unfairly? They (BJP) should let the party that won the elections run the government," Kejriwal alleged. Sonkar resigned as Chandigarh mayor and three AAP councillors -- Neha, Poonam and Gurcharan Kala -- joined the BJP on Sunday. Hitting back at AAP, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde said that the councillors joined the BJP on their "own will" and alleged that AAP made false promises to those leaders. "AAP councilors joined the BJP on their own

Newly elected Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar resigned from the post on Sunday, amid allegations that the January 30 mayoral polls were rigged, according to sources. This comes a day before the matter is to come up for hearing before the Supreme Court. Mayor Manoj Sonkar has submitted his resignation to the municipal commissioner, sources said. The BJP had swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls, in a setback to the Congress-AAP alliance that alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had rapped the returning officer who conducted the mayoral polls, observing that it was obvious that he defaced the ballot papers and that he should be prosecuted, adding that his action amounted to "murder and mockery" of democracy. The court had also ordered preservation of ballots and the video of the poll proceedings besides seeking the returning officer's personal appearance during the next hearing in the case on February 19.

In the Mayor polls, the BJP's Manoj Sonkar defeated the AAP's Kuldeep Kumar by four votes, after the AAP's eight votes were declared "invalid" without cause

Chandigarh mayoral poll row: The Supreme Court was hearing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Kuldeep Kumar's plea seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh

Congress-AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar on Tuesday moved the high court to challenge the results of the mayoral elections

The INDIA bloc will sweep the Chandigarh municipal polls and the win will be the curtain raiser for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha said on Tuesday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress -- both INDIA bloc members -- forged an alliance on Monday for the January 18 mayoral polls in the Union Territory. Chadha told a press conference here that he was sure that the INDIA bloc will defeat the BJP in the elections in Chandigarh. "The Chandigarh municipal polls will be the first big face-off between the BJP and the INDIA bloc. It will set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," he said. Under the alliance arrangement for the mayoral elections, the AAP will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The INDIA bloc was formed by opposition parties, including the Congress, the AAP, the TMC and the Samajwadi Party, to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

With the AAP emerging as leading party in Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls, national convener Arvind Kejriwal said the party's victory is a sign of the ensuing change in Punjab

New entrant Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as the leading party winning 13 of 35 wards so far as the counting of votes in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls is in progress here on Monday

Counting of votes is underway for the election held here on Friday

Counting of votes of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election is underway, and results are expected to be declared by Monday afternoon, officials said. Nine counting centres have been set up for 35 wards of the municipal corporation, and counting began at 9 am, they said. Over 60 per cent polling was recorded in the elections held here on Friday. The number of wards has increased from 26 in 2016 to 35 now. Traditionally, the municipal election - held every five years - sees a locking of horns between the BJP and the Congress, but the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party made the contest this time triangular. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a majority in the current municipal body. In the last MC elections, the BJP had won 20 seats and its erstwhile ally Shiromani Akali Dal one. The Congress had managed to win only four seats. The BJP fought the election on plank of its "achievements" in the past five years. On the other hand, the Congress and the AAP targeted the BJP for al

Polling for the 35 seats of the BJP-ruled Municipal Corporation Chandigarh began on Friday amid tight security and will continue till 5 pm, election officials said

Overall polling percentage in Municipal Corporation election was 59.54 per cent