Voting at Modern College, Ganeshkhind Road campus was halted for a few hours on Sunday, as a heated argument broke out between the volunteers and college administrative staff. The candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) panel alleged that the Vidya Vikas panel was distributing voting slips inside the polling booth.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Mahesh Hande said, “When the voting began in the morning, we were told to sit outside the college as there needed to be a 100-metre distance from the booths. However, at around 1 pm two teachers were distributing voting slips inside the voting centre and appealed to vote for Vidya Vikas panel contestants, hence, we took objection. The administration is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and we reported the issue to police officials.”
NCP senior leader Ankush Kakade and police officials intervened and the voting was stopped for over an hour.
Advocate Chitamani Ghate, chairman of the college said, “We had instructed all volunteers to follow rules, however, our teachers are being falsely accused, however, we will still check with our staff.”
Meanwhile, voters at SP College were furious over the long delay as there was a huge queue at the voting booth. “I came to cast my vote at 11 am and it has taken me over an hour. There is less staff, hence, the longer wait time,” said Seema Purohit a voter.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, voters at SP College were furious over the long delay as there was a huge queue at the voting booth. “I came to cast my vote at 11 am and it has taken me over an hour. There is less staff, hence, the longer wait time,” said Seema Purohit a voter.
{{/usCountry}}After the issue was raised with the SPPU administration, Prof Sanjeev Sonawane, pro-vice chancellor, SPPU deployed additional staff for clearing voters’ rush.