BJP hijacked local body polls in Dadra and Nagar Haveli: Congress

Not a single BJP form was rejected in the civic elections, while nearly 80% of Congress forms were rejected in the Dadra and Nagar Haveli local body polls, Congress' in-charge said, adding that a similar scenario took place in Daman and Diu.

The Congress on Sunday (October 26, 2025) accused the BJP of hijacking the local body polls in Dadra and Nagar Haveli by conspiring with officials to get about 80% of its candidates' nomination papers rejected.

The opposition party said it will raise the matter with the poll authorities responsible for local body polls in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and also approach the Bombay High Court on the issue.

Congress' in-charge for Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Manikrao Thakare, alleged that electoral "rigging" is taking place in the UT.

There was no immediate reaction from the UT election commission or the BJP on the Congress' claims.

"A major scam has been exposed in the local body elections. Going beyond vote theft, the entire election has been stolen in this region. The BJP planned so well that no one contested against it, thus hijacking the entire election," Mr. Thakare said at a press conference in New Delhi.

He was accompanied by AICC secretary co-incharge Anjali Nimbalkar and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Congress president Prabhu Tokiya.

The nomination dates for the elections were announced from October 10 to 17 and therefore, the nomination forms should have been posted on the website so that they would be available to everyone, Mr. Thakare said.

However, on October 10, there was no mention of any such form on the commission's website, he claimed.

"On October 13, a list of documents was provided. When people went to collect these documents, they were told that the staff had gone for election training. Not only this, even those who somehow managed to fill out the forms, their forms were rejected during scrutiny. A conspiracy was hatched to prevent people from filling out the forms," he alleged.

Not a single BJP form was rejected in the civic elections, while nearly 80% of Congress forms were rejected in the Dadra and Nagar Haveli local body polls, Mr. Thakare said, adding that a similar scenario took place in Daman and Diu.

"The BJP has stolen the entire election with the help of officials. The public is suffering from this oppression," Mr. Thakare alleged.