The Election Commission (EC) has mandated a fresh round of voting on May 11 at a polling station in the Dahod Lok Sabha constituency of Gujarat. This decision comes in response to an incident where an individual live-streamed the voting process on May 7, resulting in the video going viral. An official announcement made on Thursday confirmed the re-voting order.
In connection with this incident, four election officials, including a presiding officer, an assistant presiding officer, two polling officers, and a police constable, have been suspended, as disclosed by the office of the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has declared the previous voting at the Parthampur polling station in Mahisagar district null and void after reviewing a report submitted by the Returning Officer and Observer highlighting irregularities.
Promptly responding to the reported irregularities, the CEO initiated an inquiry, and upon receipt of the report, the Election Commission, invoking section 58, sub-section 2 of the Representation of the People Act, invalidated the polling held on May 7. A fresh round of polling has been scheduled for May 11 between 7 am and 6 pm at the said polling station.
Additionally, the presiding officer, assistant presiding officer, two polling officers, and one police constable have been suspended in connection with the incident. Notably, out of Gujarat’s 26 Lok Sabha seats, polling took place in 25 constituencies on Tuesday in the third phase of the general elections. Meanwhile, the BJP candidate in Surat secured victory unopposed.
The Congress party had filed a complaint with the EC, alleging “booth capturing” and “bogus voting” based on the viral video evidence and demanded a re-polling. The accused, Vijay Bhabhor, reportedly spent five minutes at the polling booth, live-streaming on Instagram, and allegedly cast votes on behalf of two other electors, engaging in bogus voting.
Prabha Taviad represents the Congress party in the constituency, contesting against incumbent MP Jasvantsinh Bhabhor. The Congress further asserted that the individual who shared the video of “booth capturing” on Instagram is the son of a local BJP leader.
The video footage depicts Vijay Bhabhor focusing the camera on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine, requesting additional time from a poll official despite being asked to leave. He purportedly states, “only the BJP works here,” before allegedly casting a vote on the EVM. Bhabhor’s companion is also visible in the video.
Subsequently, Bhabhor was detained on charges of bogus voting.
