PATIALA: While, the rejection of nomination papers of SAD and AAP candidates in two
municipal wards has proved advantageous for the Congress candidates, who have already been declared winners, the controversy kicked up by these rejections is yet to be resolved.
The absence of SAD and AAP contestants in ward number 41 and 42 has turned these elections into a cakewalk for the Congress candidates. The election officials have declared Congress candidates
Sonia Kapoor and
Sanjeev Sharma (Bittu) winner from ward number 41 and 42, respectively.
The opposition parties including the SAD, its alliance partner BJP and the AAP are alleging a political connivance between the district officials and the
Congress government, but the elections officials are claiming only invalid nominations were rejected. Surprisingly, the probe ordered into the complaints filed by the contestants whose papers were rejected is yet to be completed.
A total of 11 nominations out of 292 filed were rejected prompting a joint protest by the SAD and AAP, who alleged that the papers of their candidates in ward number 41 and 42 were rejected at the behest of the Congress government as it feared to lose these seats. The two parties even filed complaints with the DC, subsequent to which a probe was ordered.
The Congress candidates including Sonia Kapoor from Ward No. 41 (Women-General) was declared the winner after nominations of Seema Sharma of BJP and AAP candidate
Manisha Rani were rejected. In ward no. 42 (General) Sanjeev Sharma (Bittu), a two times councillor was declared the winner after nominations of Harish Kant Walia, 52, of AAP and Navneet Singh Walia of SAD, were cancelled.
While, the papers of AAP's Harish Kant were rejected on grounds that his name did not match in the voters' list available with the administration, SAD candidate Navneet claimed his no-objection certificate (NOC) taken from the Municipal Corporation went missing from the file submitted by him to the RO due to which his nomination as rejected. While producing a Xerox copy of the NOC, Walia claimed it had been done under a strategy to eliminate competition in his ward.
However, Returning Officer, Gurpreet Singh Thind, said, "The nominations of six candidates including two of AAP, one each of SAD, BJP, and Lok Shakti Party and an independent were rejected. The nominations were rejected as these were invalid. Everything is on record." Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit said that the matter was being looked into.
The AAP and SAD-BJP leaders alleged that the officials in connivance with ruling party had wrongly got their papers cancelled and it would be proved in the inquiry as videography of filing nominations was done.
Meanwhile, In Ward No 47 (Women - SC) the Congress candidate Maya won unopposed after both the AAP and BJP candidates failed to file nomination papers.
