Wayanad bypoll: Low voter turnout dampens Congress spirits
Political observers say that the massive turnout of crowd during the campaigns of Priyanka in the constituency is not reflected in the polling.
A day after the voting for Assembly by-polls at Vijaypur and Budhni in Madhya Pradesh, state Congress Chief Jitu Patwari made several allegations on the ruling BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) while making a demand for re-polling at polling booths of 37 villages in Vijaypur.
Addressing media persons at the state Congress headquarters here todayy, he claimed that the Congress lodged at least 100 complaints of gross irregularities before the by-polls with the ECI, but the apex election body did not take any action.
He said that the BJP government, flouting all election norms, posted state forest department deputy secretary Kishore Kanyal, as the Collector of Sheopur district before the voting at Vijaypur, which comes under Sheopur district. Patwari charged that the Congress made a complaint with the ECI but no action was taken. The BJP candidate at Vijaypur, Ramniwas Rawat, is the state’s cabinet minister of the forest department.
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Patwari also alleged that despite a ban on any outside person entering the limits of the constituency, goons from outside the state created havoc and attacked tribals and dalits in Vijaypur to scare them off from casting their votes.
While showing a video, claiming that the goons burnt down houses of dalits in Vijaypur, the Congress Chief announced that the party would stage a statewide protest and demonstration on November 18 against the attacks on the dalits.
Patwari demanded that re-polling must be carried out at 37 polling booths in the Vijaypur constituency. He also alleged that Aanganwadi workers were stationed at several polling booths in the Budhni constituency of Sehore district and these workers influenced voters to cast their ballot in favour of the BJP.
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