Chandigarh, May 22
Brisk and peaceful polling was reported from all three assembly constituencies of Haryana, while Punjab and Himachal Pradesh reported a moderate turn out of voters during the byelections today, amidst the immediate transfer of Karnal DC B.S. Malik on the orders of the Election Commission of India.
One constituency of Punjab, Amritsar (south), and one Lok Sabha constituency, Hamirpur, in Himachal Pradesh went to the polls along with Indri, Gohana and Adampur assembly constituencies of Haryana.
No major incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the three states. However, re-poll has been ordered in one polling booth (no. 70) at Telanwali village in the Adampur constituency. The Congress alleged that the booth was captured by supporters of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal. It alleged that the two polling agents of rival candidates and a police sub-inspector were beaten up by bodyguards of Bhajan Lal at the booth. However, the allegation has been denied by the party of Bhajan Lal.
The highest poll percentage (over 82) was reported from Adampur, from where Bhajan Lal is contesting after he was disqualified from the membership of the assembly by the Speaker under the anti-defection law.
He or his family has never lost the elections from his traditional constituency. Indri reported about 75 per cent polling while in Gohana the poll percentage was about 74.
The lowest poll percentage (about 52) was reported from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh from where Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur is contesting on the BJP ticket.
About 60 per cent polling was reported from Amritsar (south) in Punjab, where the byelection was necessitated by the death of sitting Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Raminder Singh Bolaria. Now, his son Inderbir Singh Bolaria is the ruling party’s nominee and
he is contesting against Navdeep Singh Goldy of the Congress and Ram Singh of the SAD-Amritsar, among others.
The transfer of Karnal DC Malik was ordered by the Election Commission when it came to its notice that earlier Malik was transferred by the commission as DC, Hisar, on the complaint of the Congress during the 2005 assembly elections. Ironically, later the Congress government kept him as DC of three districts, including Karnal. He was also the deputy principal secretary to the then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.
It is believed that under the Election Commission’s rules, any officer who had been earlier removed from the election duty can not be put on similar duties again. It seems that the commission came to know Malik’s past transfer only today, when the polling was almost over.
The commission asked the Haryana government to send the names of three officers in order to appoint the DC of Karnal. This evening the state government recommended the names of Vikas Gupta, DC, Kaithal; T. Satyaprakash, DC, Bhiwani; and Amit Aggarwal, ADC, Panipat, to the commission.
