Congress alleges BJP hijacked local body polls in Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Party claims 80 per cent of its candidates’ nominations were rejected; vows to move court
The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP of 'hijacking' the local body elections in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, alleging that the ruling party conspired with officials to have nearly 80 per cent of Congress candidates’ nomination papers rejected.
The opposition party said it plans to take up the matter with the Union Territory election authorities responsible for conducting local body polls in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and also approach the Bombay High Court to challenge what it described as a 'systematic rigging' of the electoral process.
Addressing a press conference, Congress in-charge for Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Manikrao Thakare, alleged that large-scale electoral malpractice had taken place in the Union Territory.
“There was no mention of any such form on the commission's website on 10 October,” Thakare claimed, referring to the nomination process that opened between 10 and 17 October.
“On 13 October, a list of documents was provided. When people went to collect these documents, they were told that the staff had gone for election training. Not only this, even those who somehow managed to fill out the forms, their forms were rejected during scrutiny. A conspiracy was hatched to prevent people from filling out the forms,” he said.
Thakare was accompanied by AICC secretary and co-in-charge Anjali Nimbalkar and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Congress president Prabhu Tokiya.
He alleged that while “not a single BJP form was rejected” in the local polls, around 80 per cent of Congress nomination papers were disqualified in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with “a similar situation” unfolding in Daman and Diu.
“A major scam has been exposed in the local body elections. Going beyond vote theft, the entire election has been stolen in this region. The BJP planned so well that no one contested against it, thus hijacking the entire election,” Thakare told reporters.
He further accused the ruling party of “using officials” to ensure uncontested victories. “The BJP has stolen the entire election with the help of officials. The public is suffering from this oppression,” he said.
Thakare asserted that the Congress would seek judicial intervention. “We will raise this issue before the election authorities and also approach the Bombay High Court,” he added.
There was no immediate reaction from the Union Territory Election Commission or the BJP on the allegations.