BJP woman councillor in Indore removes poster promoting NOTA option from rickshaw, draws Cong's ire
Indore, May 8: A woman councillor of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh's Indore removed a poster stuck on an autorickshaw encouraging the NOTA option during elections, saying that promotion of this voting option was not in the interest of democracy.
Councillor Sandhya Yadav's act drew the Congress' flak, which approached the Election Commission (EC) and lodged a complaint against her.
The Congress received a jolt in Indore after its candidate Akshay Kumar Bam withdrew his nomination on April 29, the last date of the withdrawal of nominations. Bam later joined the BJP, prompting the Congress to appeal to the people to press the NOTA (none of the above) option during polling in Indore on May 13 to teach the saffron party a lesson.
The Congress lodged a complaint with the EC after a video showing Yadav removing a poster of an organisation named Loktantra Bachao Samiti, asking people to support NOTA, surfaced on social media.
Asserting that she will continue to do so, BJP councillor Yadav told PTI that she fulfilled her "duty of being a conscious citizen" and removed the poster promoting NOTA from an autorickshaw.
She said that promoting this voting option is not in the interest of democracy.
While claiming that angry voters are running the NOTA campaign, state Congress committee general secretary Rakesh Singh Yadav alleged that Sandhya Yadav threatened the autorickshaw driver and forcibly removed the poster promoting the NOTA option from his three-wheeler and during this she was accompanied by some goons.
The Congress functionary said he has filed a complaint to the EC by submitting a video of the incident, urging it to take appropriate steps in this matter.
इंदौर में चल रही नोटा की लहर से बौखलाईं वार्ड क्रमांक-6 की भाजपा पार्षद संध्या यादव ऑटो रिक्शाओं से नोटा के बैनरों को जबरदस्ती निकलवा रही हैं।
— Shobha Oza (@Shobha_Oza) May 8, 2024
आठ लाख मतों से जीत का दावा करने वाली भाजपा में नोटा को लेकर आखिर इतनी बेचैनी और घबराहट क्यों है! pic.twitter.com/I0yTQsDVTT
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
