In a major legal victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), India’s Supreme Court overturned the controversial results of the recent Chandigarh mayoral election on Tuesday. The court ruled that the original winner from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) only secured his post through electoral fraud. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud declared AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the rightful Mayor after examining ballot papers and finding the ballots were manipulated against him. The court directed the registrar to initiate perjury charges against Anu Masih, the Returning Officer who presided over the tainted January 30th polls.
BJP Mayor Originally Won By Two Votes
In the initial polls, BJP’s Manoj Kumar Sonkar had defeated Kuldeep Kumar by just two votes – 16 to 12. However, Kuldeep secured 20 votes total, of which 8 ballots cast in his favor were suddenly invalidated by Masih right before counting.
These extra votes would have easily made Kuldeep the winner – hence the AAP’s accusations of blatant ballot stuffing by the Returning Officer to secure a BJP victory.
Officer Caught Doctoring Ballots on Camera
Suspicions Against Masih grew after CCTV footage emerged showing him marking Kuldeep’s ballots while repeatedly glancing up nervously at the cameras filming him.
Confronted with this video evidence in court, Masih shamelessly insisted he was just marking ballots “so they didn’t get mixed up.” But when pressed further, he confessed to deliberately defacing the ballots.
AAP Declares INDIA Bloc Still Strong
While the Supreme Court decision is a face-saving legal win for AAP, they may continue facing trouble in the Chandigarh Municipal Council. Just last week, three AAP council members defected to BJP – threatening the AAP-Congress “INDIA Bloc” alliance’s razor thin majority.
However, AAP remains defiant – insisting that the bloc will withstand any crisis, complete its 5-year term and focus on public welfare. They also hope this court verdict will discourage further unethical attempts by BJP to destabilize the administration through underhanded means.
For now, newly declared Mayor Kuldeep Kumar is simply relieved that justice prevailed before long-term damage was done to Chandigarh’s democratic institutions. This saga shows that while the worlds largest democracy still has room for improvement, truth can prevail when right-minded citizens and judiciary unite for the greater good.