The Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday claimed that the nominations of several of its candidates for the upcoming Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Punjab were rejected at the behest of ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders. It slammed the State Election Commission for its alleged failure in supervising the conduct of free and fair elections.
SAD leader and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema also demanded the removal of Patiala SSP Varun Sharma, claiming that in a purported audio clip, Sharma, along with some senior officers, were allegedly heard conspiring to prevent Opposition candidates from filing nomination papers.
Addressing the media in Chandigarh, Cheema said the State Election Commission should have removed the Patiala SSP in order to restore people's confidence in fair elections, but it has "failed" to do so. The police had earlier refuted the allegations and said, "It has come to notice that an artificial intelligence-generated video, created with malicious intent to mislead public, spread misinformation, and disturb law and order, is being circulated on social media".
Cheema claimed that nominations of several Opposition candidates were rejected at the behest of AAP leaders. He said that in Tarn Taran, 31 out of 72 nominations for Zila Parishad elections and 31 out of 63 nominations for Panchayat Samiti polls were rejected. Similarly, 37 nominations for Panchayat Samiti polls in Gandiwind, 43 in Khadoor Sahib and 56 in Patti were rejected, he said.
In Zira Panchayat Samiti in Ferozepur district, not even a single SAD candidate could file nominations, while for Qadian Panchayat Samiti in Gurdaspur district, 15 nominations of SAD candidates were rejected, Cheema claimed. Similarly, SAD candidates' nominations were rejected in Jaiton, Ghuman, Raja Sansi, Jandiala, Patran, Ghanour, Ajnala, Baba Bakala and Fatehgarh Churian in other districts, he added.
Lashing out at the state election commission, Cheema said, "What is the reason behind these rejections? This is the total supervision failure of the poll panel." He alleged that the SAD made several representations to the State Election Commissioner, but no action was taken.
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