The nomination papers of Sukhwinder Singh Bila, husband of AAP MLA from Jagraon Saravjit Kaur Manuke, were rejected during scrutiny for the upcoming Jagraon Municipal Council elections on Sunday after he filed nomination papers from a women-reserved ward.
The development became the centre of political discussion at the Jagraon Tehsil Complex during the scrutiny process. According to election officials, Sukhwinder Singh Bila had filed nomination papers from Ward No 1, which is reserved for women candidates.
Returning Officer Ravi Kumar said the nomination was rejected as a male candidate had filed papers from a women-reserved ward. “I was not posted at this seat when all the documents were submitted, but the nomination has been rejected as it is a women-reserved ward and a male candidate had filed nomination papers from Ward No 1,” he said.
The rejection drew attention as Sukhwinder Singh Bila is considered politically influential in the area due to his close association with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party leadership in Jagraon. Supporters and party workers remained present at the tehsil complex during the scrutiny proceedings.
Sources said the issue triggered discussions among political circles, especially as the ward was expected to witness a high-profile contest in the civic polls. Election officials, however, maintained that the rejection was done strictly as per election rules and reservation criteria.
Apart from this, nomination papers of three Independent candidates were also rejected during scrutiny. The papers of Pradeep Singh from Ward No. 9 were rejected after his age was found to be below 21 years. Independent candidate Sukhmander Singh from Ward No. 11 faced rejection due to the absence of the required BC certificate, while the nomination papers of Manmohan Kaur from Ward No 22 were rejected because of incomplete documents.
