Chandigarh Mayor Elections : Anil Masih's Defense Against Tampering Allegations

The recent Chandigarh mayoral elections has taken dramatic turn. The BJP emerged victorious, but not without controversy. Videos surfaced on social media showing AAP mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar in tears and presiding officer Anil Masih handling ballot papers, sparking allegations of tampering. Masih defended his actions, stating that AAP and Congress members had requested the replacement of 11 ballots due to marks.

"A total of 36 votes were cast. When issuing the ballot papers, some AAP and Congress Councillors were concerned about spots and marks. They requested around 11 ballot papers to be changed. I honored their request, set aside the questioned ballot papers, and issued fresh ones."

According to Masih, chaos erupted during the announcement of results. BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar received 16 votes, AAP's Kuldeep Kumar garnered 12, and eight votes were declared invalid. Masih alleged that instead of verifying the ballots, AAP and some Congress councilors caused disruptions.

 He claimed, "I asked the polling agent of AAP-Congress candidate to check the ballot paper, but instead of doing that, AAP and a few Congress councilors jumped on the table to disrupt the process, captured the ballot papers, and tore them up. AAP and Congress hatched a conspiracy to derail the election process."

AAP's Raghav Chadha called for legal action against the election officer, and the party sought court intervention to annul the results and hold a fresh election overseen by a retired judge. Opposition parties, including Congress and the Samajwadi Party, criticized BJP, accusing them of undermining democracy and disregarding the rules.