BJP leader Sanjay Tandon has challenged the election of Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on several grounds, including "promises of a corrupt nature".

Tandon, who was the BJP candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, was defeated by Congress's Manish Tewari by a margin of 2,504 votes. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party had fought the election in an alliance.

Seeking setting aside of Tewari's election as a Member of Parliament, Tandon filed the petition in the high court under the Representation People (RP) Act, 1951.  According to the petition, Tewari and party workers "indulged in various acts of omission and commission as various promises of a corrupt nature were made to target the innocent and poor voters."
 
In a closely contested election, the victory margin was even lower than the NOTA votes (2912), Tewari polled 2,16,657 votes against Tandon’s 2,14,153. According to a press statement released by Tandon on Friday, the Court has issued a notice of motion on August 7. The next hearing is scheduled for September 9.

The statement said that in a petition filed under various sections of the Representation of People Act, 1951, Tandon has accused Tewari of engaging in corrupt practices during the election. According to the petition, Tewari was previously reprimanded by the Returning Officer for similar actions. Despite this, allegations and reports suggested that Tewari and his supporters continued to engage in activities undermining the electoral process.

The petition seeks to annul Tewari's election and to declare Tandon as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Chandigarh. It also accuses Tewari, along with the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, of making misleading promises, including offering financial incentives and job guarantees to voters. These actions, which purportedly included the misuse of the national emblem in campaign endorsements, are cited as violations under various Sections of the RP Act. Such corrupt practices are grounds for setting aside his election under Section 100 and 101 read with Section 123 of the RP Act, stated the prayer.

The matter was presented by Advocate Chetan Mittal, Ashu M Punchhi and Satyam Tandon.