PATIALA, May 20 — Tensions escalated between political rivals on Wednesday as the Congress party accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of institutional bullying and systematic election tampering across Rajpura and Banur.
Following a public demonstration where party workers chanted slogans against the state government, former Rajpura MLA Hardyal Singh Kamboj led a Congress faction to hand over an official memorandum to State Election Commissioner Ajay Kamal Chaudhary. The opposition group requested the immediate removal of three local police heads, alleging a history of biased enforcement and voter intimidation during prior local body and rural council polls.
“If the State Election Commission does not transfer these police officers within two days, then we will be forced to knock on the door of the High Court,” Kamboj declared during a press interaction. “We will also write a letter to the Home Minister of the country, Amit Shah, regarding this matter so that rigging can be stopped during the Municipal Council elections.”
According to Congress officials, current local police commanders, including Banur Police Chief Inspector Arshdeep Sharma and Rajpura DSP Manjit Singh, have been actively raiding the homes of opposition candidates under orders from the ruling party to disrupt their election campaigns.
The opposition maintained that judicial intervention remains a necessary next step to guarantee free and fair voting if local election authorities do not neutralize partisan police activity. Legal representative Advocate Harjot Singh, along with regional leaders Sarabjit Singh Manakpur and Malkit Singh Upalheri, accompanied Kamboj to document the formal complaint before the election regulatory body.
