The Election Commission of India on Thursday ordered re-polling on May 11 at a polling booth under the Dahod Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat. A BJP leader’s son apparently live-streamed voting there on May 7 and the video went viral. The incident was reported as attempted booth capturing.
After the video went viral on social media, four election officials, including a presiding officer, an assistant presiding officer and two polling officers and a police constable were suspended.
The ECI declared voting at Parthampur polling station in Dahod parliamentary constituency null and void after taking into account a report submitted by the Returning Officer and Observer regarding irregularities.
As soon as the irregularities were reported, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) sought a report from the Returning Officer.
Null and void
The Gujarat CEO sent a report to the Election Commission of India, which under section 58, sub-section 2 of the Representation of the People Act, declared the polling held at the polling station on May 7 null and void. Fresh polling has been scheduled at the polling station between 7 am and 6 pm on May 11.
“The presiding officer, assistant presiding officer, two polling officers and one police constable have been suspended in connection with the incident,” a release issued by the CEO’s office said.
Of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, polling was held in 25 constituencies on Tuesday in the third phase of the general elections.
After the video of a man live streaming while holding an EVM came to light, the Congress lodged a complaint with the EC authorities of “booth capturing” and “bogus voting”. They submitted a copy of the viral video, and demanded repolling.
Live on Instagram
The accused, Vijay Bhabhor, stayed in the polling booth for five minutes, during which he went live on Instagram and also allegedly cast votes on behalf of two other electors.
In the reserved tribal parliamentary seat of Dahod, former two-time MP Prabha Taviad is the Congress candidate. She faces the BJP’s sitting MP and former union minster Jasvantsinh Bhabhor.
The Congress claimed that the person who relayed the “booth capturing” video on Instagram is the son of a local BJP leader.
The video shows Vijay Bhabhor purportedly focusing the camera on an EVM (electronic voting machine) and VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) machine and seeking five to ten minutes from a poll official even when asked to leave.
Mr. Bhabhor reportedly also says that “only the BJP works here”. His accomplice was also seen in the video.
“The machine belongs to my father. Only one thing works - that is BJP,” says Bhabhor before pressing a button on the EVM. “Only Vijay Bhabhor works here,” he is reported to have said.
Acting on a complaint by the ECI, the police have detained him for bogus voting.
