Public Polls in Patiala: SC sends notice to poll panel for ‘obstructing’ BJP, Congress, SAD candidates

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Punjab Election Commission on petitions accusing the ruling AAP of preventing candidates from the opposition BJP, Congress and SAD from filing nominations in the upcoming municipal elections in Patiala.

However, a bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath refused to postpone the elections scheduled for December 21, saying it would intervene only after a thorough study of the allegations.

Due to the “absence” of opposition candidates, 15 councilors from the ruling AAP have already been elected. With a 31-member majority in the 60-member House, AAP needs 16 more councilors to ensure control of the civic body.

Senior advocate Vivek Thanha and advocate Athenam Velan, representing some Congress and BJP candidates respectively, said several opposition candidates were denied the opportunity to contest the elections.

However, the Court said: “We will interfere with the final word and not with the ex-parte motion. After all, if we are convinced that mischief has taken place and candidates have been deliberately thwarted, we will put everything aside. No one will be able to stop us from this…”

After asking the parties to submit their responses, the bench posted the matter for further hearing on February 19, 2025.

Tanha said 27 of the 60 Congress candidates were either denied access to nomination centers or had their nomination papers destroyed. According to him, the election commission refused to intervene, citing the beginning of the election process, despite its broad constitutional powers.

“This is a complete falsification of the elections. Opposition candidates faced physical obstacles, illegal detentions and intimidation during nominations. Political parties from across the spectrum are united in the fight against these violations,” Tanha said.

The authors of the petition claimed that between December 9 and 12, the state apparatus was used to prevent opposition candidates from submitting candidacies.

On November 18, the top court said it was “very surprising” that 3,000 of the 13,000 panchayat office bearers were elected unopposed in the recently held Punjab elections and allowed the aggrieved candidates to file election petitions.

A bench headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna, while hearing a separate petition regarding the panchayat elections, said the affected persons can file election petitions before the election tribunal, which will decide them after six months.