Panaji: Aam Admi Party in Goa on Thursday claimed that the cancellation of the Ponda Assembly by-poll by the High Court was due to a political conspiracy by the Election Commission of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing a press conference in Panaji, AAP Goa President Valmiki Naik alleged that the notification of the by-poll was deliberately delayed by the Election Commission of India to ensure that the new MLA has less than a year in the chair.
The division bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday had termed the notification by the ECI for the Ponda by-poll as null and void, thereby cancelling the election scheduled to be held on April 9. The court had ruled that the new MLA would have less than a year of tenure, which is in violation of Section 151 of the Representation of the People Act.
Naik questioned why the ECI delayed announcing the dates for the by-poll despite knowing well that the law mandates that the new member should have one year in the chair.
The next Assembly election in Goa is due in March next year.
The AAP Goa chief said that they respect the verdict of the High Court but are apprehensive as the voters of Ponda will have to go without an MLA for a total of 16 months (from the day the seat fell vacant to the general Assembly election).
Naik said that the cancellation of the election was due to a conspiracy between the ECI and the BJP.
He claimed that the Advocate General of Goa (Adv Devidas Pangam) argued in support of the petitioners who had sought the cancellation of the election.
Two voters from Ponda had filed a petition in the High Court demanding cancellation of the election.
