Arvind Kejriwal today said that the resignation of BJP leader Manoj Sonkar proved that the elections were manipulated.

“The mayor’s resignation makes it clear that there was manipulation in the election. If the election is not won, our councilors are being purchased and broken,” Mr Kejriwal said.

His remarks come a day after Mr Sonkar resigned from the post ahead of Supreme Court hearing a petition claiming alleged tampering in the mayoral elections.

Mr Sonkar had secured victory in the closely watched election held on January 30, defeating Aam Aadmi Party’s Kuldeep Kumar.

The election witnessed Mr Sonkar obtaining 16 votes against the AAP candidate’s 12. The BJP’s victory faced controversy with 8 votes being declared invalid, leading to intense scrutiny and accusations from the opposition.

Taking a strict view of the alleged defacement of ballot papers during the Chandigarh mayoral election, the Supreme Court has said that the returning officer, Anil Masih, should be prosecuted. The court said this after seeking answers from Mr Masih, marking the first time in the history of independent India that a returning officer has been cross-examined by the Chief Justice.

After the elections, three of AAP’s councillors – Poonam Devi, Neha, and Gurcharan Kala – defected to the BJP on the same day.

With this development, the BJP’s strength in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation increased to 17. Additionally, the BJP enjoys the support of one Shiromani Akali Dal councillor, and BJP’s Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher has voting rights as an ex-officio member, bringing their total to 19.

The AAP, now left with 10 councillors, and its ally Congress with seven, find themselves in a challenging situation. The election aftermath has been marked by chaos, with allegations of cheating and electoral irregularities. The opposition, including the AAP and Congress councillors, accused the BJP of not adhering to due electoral processes, claiming that the presiding officer, Anil Masih, was caught “tampering” with ballot papers in a video submitted to the Supreme Court. The BJP, however, has vehemently denied these allegations.

Union Minister Smriti Irani has challenged Rahul Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Uttar Pradesh today, to contest from his erstwhile constituency of Amethi.

“In 2019 he left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he is confident, then without going to Wayanad (Mr Gandhi’s Constituency), let him fight from Amethi,” Ms Irani told NDTV.

“Amethi’s empty roads tell us what they feel about Rahul Gandhi,” said Ms Irani, who held a Jan Samwad in Amethi as part of a four-day visit to her parliamentary constituency.

Amethi used to be a Congress stronghold in the state, where Rahul Gandhi lost to the BJP leader by a margin of around 55,000 votes in the 2019 elections.

At 80 seats, Uttar Pradesh sends most number of MPs to parliament. In the last general elections, the Congress secured just one seat – Raebareli by Sonia Gandhi. While Rahul Gandhi lost in Amethi, he won by a big margin in faraway Wayanad.  

Cut to 2014, Sonia Gandhi will move to Rajya Sabha and has called on the people of Raebareli to “be with my family”.

The question is which member of the family will stand from Raebareli.

“Nobody imagined Gandhi family will leave their seat,” said Ms Irani, taking aim at the Gandhis.

The Congress is still undecided on wether Rahul Gandhi will make an attempt at regaining the Congress stronghold.

“CEC (Congress Central Election Committee) will decide on who will contest from Amethi. Rahul Gandhi has been an MP from Amethi thrice. His father Rajiv Gandhi also used to contest from Amethi. It is a very important constituency for the Congress party…,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Babuganj later in the day and stay the night in Amethi.

“Today is the 37th day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Babuganj. We will stay in Amethi tonight and reach Raebareli tomorrow morning,” Jairam Ramesh added.

Responding strongly to veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad’s claims that he and his father had been briefed about the abrogation of Article 370, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has said that they were detained for eight months at the time while Mr Azad was the only former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister who was free. 

The claim was made by Mr Azad in an interview to a TV channel on Monday, in which he also referred to rumours that the Abdullahs had asked to be kept under house arrest themselves in 2019 so that they would not have to take a “public posture” on the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. 

The former Congress leader and now Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chief went on to allege that the father and son said one thing in Srinagar and something else in Delhi, and accused them of playing a clever game

Lashing out at Mr Azad, Omar Abdullah said, “Who is azad (free) and who is ghulam (a slave), time will tell & people will decide. 

Rebutting the claims in a post on X, Mr Abdullah wrote, “Wah bhai wah Ghulam Nabi Azad, so much bile today. Where is the Ghulam that was begging us for Rajya Sabha seats in J&K as recently as 2015? ‘Abdullahs knew about 370’ yet we were detained for more than 8 months including under PSA & you were free, the only ex CM in J&K free after 5th Aug (sic).”

Wah bhai wah Ghulam Nabi Azad, so much bile today. Where is the Ghulam that was begging us for Rajya Sabha seats in J&K as recently as 2015? “Abdullahs knew about 370” yet we were detained for more than 8 months including under PSA & you were free, the only ex CM in J&K free… https://t.co/WAbK6hGB4F

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 19, 2024

The National Conference leader was referring to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act under which he, his father and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti – all former J&K chief ministers – had been detained in the run-up to, and after, the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. 

On the DPAP chief’s claims that he and his father met the PM and Home Minister secretly, Mr Abdullah claimed his father had been “thrown out” of his government bungalow when he was no longer an MP, while Mr Azad had been allowed to retain his ministerial bungalow. 

Referring to PM Modi’s speech in Parliament, when he teared up while bidding farewell to Mr Azad on his final day in the Rajya Sabha in 2022, the National Conference leader wrote. “‘Abdullahs say one thing in Kashmir & another in Delhi’ yet PM cries for you in Rajya Sabha & criticises us in every speech. Let’s not forget the Padma award for which you agreed to leave Congress & help BJP in Chenab valley. Who is azad & who is ghulam, time will tell & people will decide.”

Mr Azad had left the Congress in 2022 after writing a letter to Sonia Gandhi, stating that the situation in the party had reached a point of “no return”. He had formed the Democratic Progressive Azad Party the same year.