Last Updated: February 18, 2024, 16:13 IST
Manoj Sonkar (R) with BJP MP Kirron Kher after winning the Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30. (Image: @ANI/X)
Manoj Sonkar was asked to resign after a meeting of senior office-bearers of the BJP that took place in Delhi with the party high command on Saturday, sources said
In a dramatic new development in the Chandigarh mayoral polls row, Mayor Manoj Sonkar of BJP is likely to resign on Sunday, a day before the Supreme Court was set to hear the matter.
Quoting sources, an Indian Express report said Sonkar was asked to resign after a meeting of senior office-bearers of the BJP that took place in Delhi with the party high command on Saturday.
“The mayor has been asked to resign, and he will resign today (Sunday) evening. Senior party leaders will be present,” a senior BJP leader told Indian Express on the condition of anonymity.
Manoj Sonkar of BJP had won the Chandigarh mayoral elections on January 30, after eight votes of the INDIA bloc were declared invalid. The Congress-AAP alliance had alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer, a charge which was rubbished by the BJP.
It was alleged by the opposition that Sonkar had won after presiding officer Anil Masih scribbled on ballot papers and invalidated eight votes of the Congress-AAP combine by himself, an act which was purportedly caught on camera.
Following the polls, the Congress-AAP alliance approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking cancellation of the result and holding the Chandigarh mayor elections again.
On February 5, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the presiding officer in the Chandigarh mayoral polls saying it is evident that he defaced the ballot papers.
The apex court made the remarks while hearing an AAP councillor’s plea challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that refused to grant any interim relief to the party seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh.
“Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is a murder of democracy. We are appalled. This man should be prosecuted. Is this the behaviour of the Returning Officer?” CJI DY Chandrachud said.
A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud asked the presiding officer to appear on the next hearing date, February 19.
