Patiala: The Supreme Court’s order for fresh elections in 28 of Patiala municipal corporation’s 60 wards has triggered demands from opposition parties for mayor Kundan Gogia’s resignation and dissolution of the civic body, with Gogia rejecting the demands and saying the House had sufficient quorum to function.The SC set aside the results in the 28 wards after accepting findings of a one-member fact-finding commission headed by retired Punjab and Haryana high court judge Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. The inquiry found electoral malpractices, including assaults on opposition candidates, tearing of nomination papers, voter intimidation and bogus voting.Of the invalidated results, 25 wards had been won by the ruling AAP, two by BJP and one by Congress. Those unseated include the senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor, District Planning Board chairperson Tejinder Mehta from Ward 34 and PRTC chairperson Harpal Juneja from Ward 38. AAP had initially won 50 wards, while BJP and Congress secured four each and SAD two.Gogia termed the resignation calls political posturing and said he would step down if constitutionally required. He said a one-third quorum, or about 20 members, was enough to run the House and claimed the ruling side had 28 members, including three MLAs. Development work was continuing, he said.Former mayor Sanjeev Sharma Bittu demanded dissolution of the corporation, saying the govt had lost moral authority following the findings of large-scale electoral corruption. He said major policy and financial decisions required a two-thirds majority, or at least 42 members in an effective 63-member House, and urged CM Bhagwant Mann to fix responsibility on officials.Congress and BJP leaders also demanded the ruling faction step down. District Congress Committee (Urban) president Naresh Duggal said AAP had won 14 wards unopposed in Dec 2024 after opposition candidates were prevented from filing nominations, with 13 of those seats now invalidated.Municipal commissioner Pooja Sial said the corporation would follow the SC directions. No meetings were scheduled and legal advice would be sought from the Advocate General before convening House or Finance and Contract Committee meetings, except in an unforeseen civic emergency.Fresh polling must conclude within six weeks under a monitoring committee to be constituted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court chief justice within seven days. The committee will oversee returning officers and police deployment, with videography mandatory.
