Panchkula, Nov 4
The scheduled elections for the Deputy Mayor and Senior Deputy Mayor positions of Panchkula Municipal Corporation were abruptly postponed on Monday after the Returning Officer (RO) and Municipal Joint Commissioner, Simranjit Kaur, reportedly fell ill. The announcement came just before the elections were set to commence at Kisan Bhawan in Panchkula’s Sector 14, sparking allegations from Congress members.
All 20 councillors, representing the BJP (11 members), Congress (8 members), and JJP (1 member), were present. Panchkula Corporation Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal and Congress MLA Chander Mohan were also in attendance when Joint Commissioner Kaur was taken to the hospital.
Mayor Goyal stated, “All our councillors, including nominated ones, were present, but the RO’s illness required her to be hospitalized.” However, Congress MLA Chander Mohan expressed doubts about the situation, suggesting that the sudden illness might have been orchestrated to delay the elections. He stated, “The RO was declared ill just half an hour before, despite seeming healthy.”
Congress councillor Salim Dabkouri voiced frustration, calling it a “murder of democracy.” He said, “We were fully prepared with all our councillors for the election. However, we were informed that the RO fell ill and was taken to the hospital. It is unclear whether this was a genuine situation or engineered, but it certainly raises questions.”
The Congress party suspects that the postponement might have been motivated by concerns within the BJP that some councillors could vote against their own candidates. This unexpected delay has intensified political tensions and cast doubt on the fairness of the electoral process within the corporation.
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