Protest erupts as poll officials junk 23 papers in Machhiwara

At least 23 nominations for the upcoming nagar council elections were rejected by the poll officials in Machhiwara, leaving Opposition leaders fuming.

Leaders from the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) came together in a rare show of unity, taking out a protest march and holding a sit-in outside the election officer’s office as they pinned the blame on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the rejections. While addressing a gathering at the protest, Congress in-charge for Samrala constituency Rupinder Singh Raja Gill said, “In the history of Machhiwara, we have had five nagar council elections. Never before have we seen such blatant coercion and misuse of power. The rejection of 23 nomination papers exposes the ruling party’s fear of losing.”

The protest march began at the historic Gurdwara Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib and culminated outside the election officer’s office, where the demonstrators staged a sit-in and raised slogans against what they said was the administration’s ‘high-handedness’. The protesters termed the rejections as ’an attempt to stifle democracy’.

Among the leaders at the forefront of the protest were Rupinder Singh Raja Gill, SAD’s Parmjeet Singh Dhillon; Congress district president Lakhvir Singh Lakha Payal and BJP district vice-president Bhupinder Singh Cheema. Gill warned that the anger among the public will lead to ‘severe consequences’ for the government. “The people of Machhiwara will respond to this oppression at the EVMs,” he added. Akali leader Parmjeet Singh Dhillon accused the ruling party of ‘orchestrating rejections’ to eliminate competition. “The government has crossed all limits to influence these elections. This level of political interference is unprecedented. The people will not forget this betrayal,” he said.

The protesters said that on reaching the election officer’s office, they found the premises locked with no officials present to address their grievances.

BJP leaders Sanjeev Lehal and Rajesh Lehal, and Jaspreet Singh Kalal Majra and Kapil Anand from the Congress addressed the gathering, vowing to challenge the decision in court. “We will not let this injustice go unanswered. If the administration thinks they can silence us, they are mistaken. We will take this matter to the high court,” said Lehal. Raja Gill said the party remains determined. “Though the nomination papers of seven of our candidates were rejected, we will contest in the remaining eight wards and win with a strong mandate. The public’s response today is proof that they will not tolerate this injustice.” he said.

Political analysts say the incident is a significant blow to the administration’s credibility. “This has united Opposition parties in their fight against the ruling establishment. This could change the dynamics of the election,” said a local political observer.