CHANDIGARH: The nomination papers of 713 candidates in the fray for the civic body election in Punjab to be held on May 26 have been rejected following scrutiny.
The Opposition parties claim foul play as the maximum rejections have been of their candidates.
The usual civic issues have taken a back seat, and law and order, drug menace, unemployment, economic decline, and the poor state of urban civic infrastructure caused by a paucity of funds for civic bodies have turned dominant.
The elections are being widely regarded as the prequel to the Assembly polls to be held in a few months.
According to data available from the State Election Commission, the total number of candidates from different political parties now in the fray is 10,096.
The highest number of rejections, 447, are in the 75 municipal councils that go to the polls, followed by 151 in the eight Municipal Corporations and 115 in the 21 Nagar Panchayats.
These civic body elections have taken centre stage as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal are contending fiercely.
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar accused the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government of undermining democracy by allegedly rejecting nomination papers of BJP candidates in large numbers.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party would move court over the matter and would not allow the ruling AAP government to loot the elections through unfair means.
He alleged that the Punjab government had selectively targeted BJP candidates by rejecting their nomination papers in constituencies where the party was in a strong position.
"21 BJP candidates’ nomination papers were rejected in Batala, 10 in Moga, 11 in Barnala, and 3 in Dhuri, besides similar incidents in several other local body elections. These nomination papers have been rejected without any concrete grounds,” he alleged.
Jakhar further claimed that the Punjab government was following “Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed” political strategy.
He accused government officials of acting as political agents instead of ensuring free and fair elections.
"The BJP is collecting details of officers involved and will strongly oppose the misuse of government machinery,” he said and cautioned CM Mann against disregarding democratic norms and traditions.
Interestingly, the nomination paper of Sukhwinder Singh Bila, husband of an AAP MLA from Jagraon, Saravjit Kaur Manuke, was rejected during scrutiny for the upcoming Jagraon Municipal Council elections on Sunday.
According to election officials, Sukhwinder had filed nomination papers from Ward No 1, which is reserved for women candidates.
Sources said the issue triggered discussions as the ward was expected to witness a high-profile contest in the civic polls.
Sukhwinder is considered politically influential in the area due to his close association with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party leadership in Jagraon.