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Chandigarh, July 11
The Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to order an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities during the recent urban local body elections, accusing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of misusing state machinery to influence the electoral process. The BJP delegation led by the party’s Punjab president, Kewal Singh Dhillon, met the Governor on Saturday and submitted a memorandum alleging that the civic elections were marred by administrative interference, intimidation of opposition candidates and irregularities during polling, counting and the election of mayors and municipal council presidents. The delegation included senior BJP leaders Sunil Jakhar, Ashwani Sharma and other party office-bearers.
Speaking after the meeting, Dhillon alleged that ward boundaries were manipulated, opposition candidates faced pressure during the nomination process and government officials acted in favour of the ruling party.
He also claimed that in some municipalities, AAP-backed candidates were declared mayors or council presidents despite not having majority support.
The BJP cited the Abohar Municipal Corporation as one such example. According to the party, it had the backing of 28 councillors and one MLA in the 50-member House, compared with AAP’s 20 votes, yet the AAP candidate was declared mayor. Dhillon said the election was later postponed after BJP workers protested.
The party alleged that similar issues had emerged in Rajpura, Kapurthala, Barnala and several other towns.
In its memorandum, the BJP sought a time-bound and independent investigation into the alleged violations. It also demanded that election records, official documents and video recordings from the affected civic bodies be preserved and examined.
The party called for legal action against officials found guilty of misconduct, fresh elections where it believes the electoral process was compromised, and safeguards to ensure the political neutrality of the civil administration in future local body elections.
According to BJP leaders, Governor Kataria assured the delegation that the allegations would be examined impartially and that any action would be taken in accordance with the law.
