Chandigarh, December 6: Fearing misuse of official machinery to target rival candidates in the local body elections by the ruling Congress leaders, at least 20 prospective candidates of the BJP have applied for anticipatory bail at different places in the state. This was stated by state party chief Vijay Sampla while talking to The Tribune.
Refusing to divulge details, Sampla said: “I do not want to cause any harm to them by revealing their names. If required, I will give the case details to the election authorities, especially in the corporation of Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar.”
At least three prospective candidates whose names were cleared by the election committee of the BJP are at their wits end. “We had seen the voter list and applied for the party ticket from our respective wards. Our names are now missing from the ‘revised’ list and we are told that we could not contest the election from there,” a leader said.
He said: “Our names have been shifted to the voter lists of adjoining wards. We want to know why the lists were not released on time to allow us to decide our wards. The election process this time is a blatantly unplanned exercise.”
Sampla said: “The SAD-BJP candidates are being threatened. Even the police are siding with the Congress. Our candidates and workers are showing their determination in standing up to the repression by the Congress and its agents. We will fight it out with the ballot.”
News source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
