Supreme Court To Examine Ballot Papers, Video Of Chandigarh Polls Today
NDTV
The BJP's Manoj Sonkar won the election with 16 votes, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar, who secured 12 votes.
The Supreme Court will today examine the ballot papers of the Chandigarh mayoral poll and video recording of the counting process amid concerns over "horse-trading" and the contentious victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP's Manoj Sonkar won the election with 16 votes, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar, who secured 12 votes. However, controversy erupted when the returning officer, Anil Masih, declared eight votes from the coalition partners as invalid, sparking accusations of ballot tampering. A video went viral showing Mr Masih - a member of the BJP's minority cell - marking on ballots cast for AAP councilors. During a February 5 hearing, the Supreme Court denounced his actions as a blatant "mockery of democracy."
A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed deep concern over the alleged "horse-trading" and decided to examine the ballot papers and video recording of the counting process. Rather than immediately ordering fresh polls, the court suggested considering the declaration of results based on the votes already cast.
