By Sushil Kutty
Was the manner in which the Chandigarh mayoral election conducted a symptom or the disease itself, a crooked system at play? The country’s top court has spoken – the previous week’s mayoral poll in the Union Territory was openly tampered with by a seemingly biased Presiding Officer to ensure the “victory” of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Manoj Sonkar and the defeat of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Kuldeep Kumar.
Sonkar “won” by four votes. Kuldeep Kumar broke out in tears. Eight votes of the AAP were declared “invalid”, allegedly “without cause”, and since then, a controversy rages with the Supreme Court terming the election “murder of democracy”, in which case the onus is on the BJP to prove innocence.
Now, the Supreme Court has intervened and ordered remedies, asking the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get hold of all material pertaining to the election. Needless to say, the tampering and the controversy that followed has left its indelible mark on everybody connected with the election, including the BJP top brass.
Was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who would later in Parliament speak of the high standards set by the BJP ever since Modi became Prime Minister, aware of the Supreme Court raising Cain over the Presiding Officer’s allegedly biased actions caught on camera? Was Prime Minister Narendra Modi aware of the video showing Presiding Officer Anil Masih of the BJP’s Minority Cell fiddling with ballot papers of AAP councillors?
The video showing Masih in action was singled out for severe criticism from all and sundry, with even the Supreme Court of India taking note of Masih’s total capitulation to what looked like a BJP plot gone wrong? The opposition INDI-Alliance alleged that by “writing” on AAP councillors’ ballot papers, Masih knowingly invalidated AAP votes to ensure a BJP victory, a fact that did not escape the Supreme Court’s attention.
“He defaced ballot papers. It is clearly visible in the video… he is looking into the camera and spoiling the ballot paper… Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is a murder of democracy. This man should be prosecuted,” the Supreme Court said. “Won’t allow murder of democracy.”
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was the most incensed. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier refused relief to the Aam Aadmi Party, which had alleged that free and fair polls were the last thing in Presiding Officer Masih’s mind. The video shows Masih with a bunch of ballot papers gesturing to somebody and then writing on some of the ballot papers before adding his signature to them.
AAP alleged Masih invalidated eight votes, which cut into the AAP candidate’s tally and allowed the BJP victory. Both the AAP, and the Congress, came down hard on Masih, but the BJP took up cudgels on his behalf and rubbished AAP’s allegations.
Was the BJP in cahoots with the suspect returning officer? A victory in the Chandigarh mayoral elections had its own importance. A win for AAP would have been a first for the INDI-Alliance also. The INDIA bloc would have got a much-needed boost and opposition unity would have strengthened. The notion that the BJP cannot be beaten in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections would also have taken a direct hit.
Also, the whole question of seat-sharing would have eased to manageable proportions. The “ugly squabbles” between INDI-Alliance partners such as that between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress and that between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress would have stood a chance for reasonable resolution.
The fact that the AAP’s mayoral candidate broke down in public after the rigged defeat had a great emotional pull, which was not lost on anyone. The AAP and the Congress had a seat-sharing agreement with the AAP to fight the mayoral election and the Congress fighting for the pair of deputy posts. The agreement was that AAP and Congress councillors would vote for each other – a maximum of 20 votes in the elections and it would be a straightforward sweep for both parties.
The returning officer would be facing the Supreme Court on February 19 when his “mockery of democracy”, as also “murder of democracy”, would be punished if he is unable to prove his innocence. Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta says Anil Masih is beyond reproach. But the big question is, can the BJP escape responsibility? After this fiasco, the saffron party will be going into the general elections slightly tainted and a lot more suspect in the eyes of the electorate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday the BJP will win 370 Lok Sabha seats and the NDA over 400. The question will be raised, how many of the 370 will be courtesy a friendly returning officer with restless fingers?
The three-judge bench of the top court resided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud made After watching a video of the election proceedings, CJI Chandrachud, referring to returning officer Anil Masih, said, “What is he doing? It’s obvious that he has defaced the ballot…This man has to be prosecuted.”
“This is a mockery of democracy. It’s murdering democracy. Is this the way he conducts an election? We are appalled by what has happened. We are simply appalled by what has happened,” he said.
The court directed that the “entire records pertaining to the election of the mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation” be kept in the custody of the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court by 5 pm Monday. (IPA Service)
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