BJP's Manoj Sonkar resigns as Chandigarh mayor before SC hearing

• Newly elected Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar resigns amidst allegations of election rigging
• Resignation precedes a scheduled Supreme Court hearing on the mayoral polls
• BJP's victory in the polls had sparked accusations of tampering by the Congress-AAP alliance

Chandigarh's newly elected Mayor, Manoj Sonkar, has tendered his resignation amidst allegations of rigging in the January 30 mayoral elections. Sonkar's resignation, submitted to the municipal commissioner Anindita Mitra, comes on the eve ahead of a scheduled Supreme Court hearing regarding the contentious mayoral polls.

The BJP's victory in the Chandigarh mayoral elections had dealt a blow to the Congress-AAP alliance, which had accused the presiding officer, Anil Masih of tampering with ballot papers. 

Earlier on February 5, the SC commented on the incident labelling it as "murder and mockery of Democracy."

After Manoj Sonkar resigned three Aam Aadmi Party councilors – Punam Devi, Neha Musawat, and Gurcharan Kala – in Chandigarh who had gone incommunicado three days ago and joined the BJP on Sunday night, citing “unhappiness” with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.