Congress alleges poll fraud after 17 of its 21 nominations rejected in Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Raising an alarm over the rejection of 17 out of 21 of its candidates in the recently concluded local body elections in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the Congress on Sunday alleged that manipulation at several echelons of the administrative set up was behind it.

- AAISHA SABIR

Alleging “a systematic subversion of democratic norms” in the local body elections in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, the main opposition party claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had “hijacked the entire electoral process” through administrative interference and procedural manipulation and that 17 Congress candidates had been rejected out of 21. Manikrao Thakare, AICC in-charge for Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu, claimed that