E-Paper
Clashes, protests as first phase of panchayat polls ends
: Clashes, protests and allegations of bogus voting marred the gram panchayat polls on Wednesday that saw a voter turnout of 81
: Clashes, protests and allegations of bogus voting marred the gram panchayat polls on Wednesday that saw a voter turnout of 81.4% to elect sarpanches and panches in nine districts of the state in the first phase.
The voting had started at 7 am and ended at 6 pm to elect the representatives of 2,607 village panchayats, including 312 panchayats in Bhiwani, 247 in Jhajjar, 300 in Jind, 277 in Kaithal, 343 in Mahendergarh, 325 in Nuh, 135 in Panchkula, 178 in Panipat and 490 in Yamunanagar district.
Haryana State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh said that the first phase of polling for gram panchayats in Haryana was conducted peacefully barring some sporadic incidents reported in Nuh district.
The poll for panch and sarpanch posts was held in nine districts of Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Mahendragarh, Nuh, Panchkula, Panipat and Yamunanagar and the election results were declared immediately after the counting of votes.
Clashes and protests
Incidents of violence were reported in some parts of the state during the polls. Ten people were injured in separate incidents in Mahendragarh and Panipat.
Eight persons sustained injuries after groups of two candidates indulged in a clash and threw stones at each other in Ropar Sarai village in Mahendragarh district. One person sustained major injuries and he has been referred to Jaipur in Rajasthan for treatment.
Polling was stopped for some time and later it resumed after superintendent of police Vikrant Bhushan reached the spot and pacified the villagers.
In Jhajjar’s Jahidpur village, the electronic voting machine and election material were allegedly thrown after a clash between workers of two candidates. After getting the information of a verbal clash over casting a vote, the police rushed to the spot and dispersed the villagers. Later, additional police were deployed there to conduct the polls peacefully.
Jhajjar superintendent of police Waseem Akram said two persons involved in the brawl were arrested while a few others had been rounded up for questioning.
In his complaint to the Jhajjar Sadar Police, Navneet, presiding officer at booth number-113, said agents and some villagers engaged in a scuffle after a mock poll was conducted in the morning.
“They tore the uniform of the cops on duty and threw election materials and the EVM to the ground, damaging the machine at a corner. The entire incident was recorded to identify miscreants,” he added.
According to unconfirmed police sources, a case under sections 123, 127, 131 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, and sections 147, 149, 186,188, 332, 353, 427, 451, 506 of the IPC and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, was registered.
Some minor incidents of scuffle and protest were reported from some villages in Kaithal district, but the officials said that the polling was conducted peacefully.
Residents of Kharak Pandwa village of Kaithal district held a protest and blocked the national highway alleging bogus voting. Minor incident of stone pelting was also reported in Julani Khera village of Kalayat block of the district.
Kaithal deputy commissioner and returning officer Sangeeta Tetarwal said that the election for the 254 posts of Sarpanches remained peaceful, while 23 sarpanches in the district were elected unopposed.
In Panipat, clashes erupted in two groups in Mahrana village of the district and two people one each from both the groups sustained injuries in the clash.
Residents of Bua Lakhu village of Karnal also held a protest.
The supporters of a sarpanch aspirant blocked the Bhiwani-Rohtak highway over allegations of bogus voting. They cleared the road after police reached the spot and assured them that fair voting was being carried out.
The residents of Chhabbri, Rojkhera, Frain Khurd and Bhidtana villages in Jind boycotted the panchayat polls.
Sarpanches and panches
As many as 39,619 candidates had filed nominations for 25,967 panch posts in the first phase. A total of 17,158 panches were unanimously elected, including 8,708 male and 8,450 female, while 16,832 candidates contested for the 8,809 panch posts.
As many as 17,597 candidates had filed nominations for 2,605 sarpanch posts, out of which 133 were elected unanimously for the post of sarpanch, including 74 male and 59 female. As many as 11,391 candidates contested for 2,472 sarpanch posts.
Singh said elections of sarpanch in panchayat Asoda Siwan, Block-Bahadurgarh, District Jhajjar and Gram Panchayat Khodma, Block Narnaul and Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat Floor Majra, Block Siwan, District Kaithal has been postponed due to the orders of the High Court.
Case of mistaken identity
In a case of mistaken identity reported in Radaur block of Yamunanagar, the election symbols of two panch candidates in village marupur under ward number 3 were found changed on the ballot papers.
Both, Raman Lal and Dinesh Kumar struggled to convince their voters about the mistake and registered their complaint with the SDM, demanding cancellation of the election.
SDM, Radaur, Satinder Siwach said, “prima facie, the claim was found to be true and a re-polling has been recommended.”
(With inputs from HTC, Chandigarh, Ambala)
