Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging “brazen misuse of electoral machinery” in the contentious Chandigarh mayoral polls. Kharge reiterated his apprehension that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would be the last opportunity for the people to save democracy.

“The brazen misuse of electoral machinery at the behest of BJP in the Chandigarh Mayoral polls will further erode the confidence of people in free and fair elections,” the Congress chief said in a post on X.

“As I said yesterday, 2024 is the last chance for us to save Democracy. If we do not come together, to save it from BJP, our future generations shall repent,” he added.

A major controversy erupted after the BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar defeated the AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar for the mayor’s post. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress had fielded a joint candidate and, with numbers in their favour, were looking at a comfortable win.

The AAP candidate was expected to garner 20 out of 36 votes.

However, presiding officer Anil Masih declared eight votes invalid, paving the way for BJP’s unlikely victory with 16 votes.

The ballots may be declared invalid if identifying marks are found on the ballot paper that could reveal voters’ identity.

The AAP and the Congress accused the presiding officer of marking polled votes with ticks while counting was on, a charge rejected by him and the BJP.

On the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, “Godse worshipper BJP has murdered democracy and all ethos of Constitution,” the Congress chief said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X, “It is beyond imagination what the BJP, which can kill democracy in front of the entire world in the mayor elections, will do to remain in power in Delhi.”

“Years ago, on this day, Godse had assassinated Gandhiji and today Godse-vadis sacrificed his ideals and constitutional values,” Gandhi said.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the development in Chandigarh “shows that it is second nature for the BJP to override the democratic mandate”. “Brazen, shameless capture of the democratic system.”

“First they abruptly postponed the elections, and then devised a way to capture it. This is a warning for all those who are deluded into thinking that the Modi-led BJP will allow democracy to function if they win in 2024,” he said.