Punjab panchayat election: Villagers lock booth, refuse to allow repolling till violence accused arrested

After high drama that continued till the wee hours of Wednesday with villagers opposing any attempt at declaring victory by “politically connected” candidates, the Election Commission ordered repolling on Wednesday from 8 am to 4 pm at villages Khudda, Kheti Raju Singh and Karimnagar Chicharwala.

However, the villagers are now adamant not to allow the electoral process and demand justice for the violence and strict action against the perpetrators who indulged in booth rigging and left many injured.

The repolling at Khudda village has been opposed by villagers who claim they want FIRs against those who resorted to firing. “We will start the polling process only after we get justice for what happened on Tuesday,” they said.

At Khudda village, one person was left injured following a gunshot injury and total chaos and violence prevailed. Later, the ballot box was stolen and acid poured into it.

All arrangements for the election in these villages had been made, said officials. Senior police officials said they had already registered FIRs in this regard and the accused would be identified and arrested soon.

On Tuesday midnight, villagers sat on dharna outside the counting centre in Fatehpur Rajputtan village in protest . Some alleged that AAP supporters tried to stop videography of the counting process, which was being done following high court orders.

Kulwinder Kaur, a candidate for sarpanch post, had got these orders from the HC. Kulwinder won the poll by a margin of 59 votes, defeating the sister-in-law of the Nabha MLA, who also hails from the same village.

After many rounds of counting and recounting, the results were declared almost after 1.15 am.

Following the directions of State Election Commission, repolling was to be held on Wednesday from 8 am to 4 pm at Khuda, Kheti Raju Singh and Karimnagar Chicharwala villages. All arrangements for the election in these villages had been made, said officials.

Patiala saw around 73.58 per cent voting with violence in many villages. At Khudda village in Sanaur constituency, armed supporters of a political party trespassed into the polling station and fled with the ballot box, which was later recovered burnt from a nearby farm. A firing incident earlier left two persons injured in the same polling booth, with one admitted to hospital with a gunshot injury in the abdomen.

“Around 100 outsiders armed with weapons openly challenged the villagers and fired gunshots at Khudda and Chicharwala. They threatened the rival candidates and in connivance with the police, put acid in the ballot box and later stole it”, said Patiala MP Dr Dharamavira Gandhi. “I demand strict action by Patiala deputy commissioner against the police teams in the village and a FIR against the miscreants”, said Gandhi.