AAP nominee Tripta Sofat was elected unopposed after the nomination papers of all other candidates were rejected from Ward No. 9 of the Municipal Council, Mandi Gobindgarh.Leaders of the opposition parties staged a dharna in front of the Amloh SDM’s office and termed the rejection of papers a murder of democracy while accusing ruling AAP of engineering Sofat’s “unopposed election”.The controversy erupted after the nomination papers of candidates belonging to the Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal and an Independent contestant were rejected during scrutiny on Tuesday. AAP candidate Tripta Sofat, mother of Additional Advocate General Ferry Sofat, was the only candidate left for the councillor’s post and was subsequently declared elected unopposed.Leaders of opposition parties claimed that it was already being suspected in the town that the AAP candidate would be elected unopposed. “What people feared has come true,” said an opposition party leader, alleging that the election process was manipulated to ensure win of the ruling party nominee.Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia posted on X that the “Sofat Model” of Mandi Gobindgarh had raised serious questions over democracy in Punjab. “If opposition candidates are removed from the contest itself, can this still be called a fair election?” he asked.Congress candidate Neetu Singhi has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the rejection of her nomination papers.