Two BJP members were on Wednesday arrested in Gujarat’s Mahisagar district under the Dahod Lok Sabha constituency for alleged bogus voting after the act was live-streamed on social media and the video went viral. The Congress has demanded strict action further alleging that the accused had visited 25 polling stations and indulged in bogus voting in the Gothib taluka panchayat in Santrampur as well. The act was live-streamed from the Facebook account of one of the accused, Vijay Bhabhor, 28. In the video, Bhabhor is seen entering the polling area of a booth in Prathampur and fidgeting with the electronic voting machine while also resisting the warnings of the election officials. Bhabhor is heard saying, “Give us 10 minutes, we are sitting here. it (polling) has been going on since morning. It does not work like that. Only the BJP can run. Machine aapnu baapnu che (The machine belongs to our father).” Bhabhor is seen encouraging others to press the “lotus” button, the symbol for sitting BJP MP Jasvantsinh Bhabhor. He is also seen breaking into a dance with the electronic voting machine even as he assures his accomplice that he “is in control” in the area. Mahisagar Superintendent of Police Jaydeepsinh Jadeja told The Indian Express that the duo had been arrested under sections of the Representation of the People Act as well as the Indian Penal Code. “We have arrested two persons, Vijay Bhabhor, 28, and Manoj Magan, 38, for conducting bogus voting in the polling station in Prathampur. The two are members of the BJP and Bhabhor’s father Ramesh Bhabhor is a former president of the Santrampur taluka panchayat. The accused have been booked under IPC sections 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by a public servant with fraudulent intent) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant).” The video stirred a controversy and the Congress’s polling agents have submitted two separate complaints to the Santrampur police regarding a similar incident of bogus voting by the same duo in 25 polling stations under Gothib taluka panchayat. Congress agents from the Purohit school polling booth in Gothib village as well as the Lilasar Moti Bugedi polling booth have also submitted police complaints about threats and bogus voting. A Congress polling agent from Gothi village has also complained that he was assaulted by the accused duo and threatened with dire consequences. The FIR lodged at the Santrampur police station by Santrampur Mamlatdar Ishaq Mohammad Pathan, 47, who is also the additional electoral registration officer, states that the incident came to light after the accused went live on social media while indulging in bogus voting. Pathan said in his complaint, “Despite having the knowledge that mobile phones are prohibited inside polling stations, the accused took the mobile phone with him and violated the prohibitory orders in place. Another accused is seen helping him and we have learnt, through reports, that the name of the person seen in the video is Vijay Bhabhor. On bringing the matter to the notice of the Mahisagar District Collector, we have been orally directed to file a complaint at the police station.” Congress criticises BJP and Election Commission Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi attacked the BJP over the incident. “Among the many incidents of threatening voters and trying to prevent voters from casting their votes in Gujarat, the most serious cases emerged at night from Dahod, where the son of a BJP leader was seen casting bogus votes while keeping voters waiting in the queue and even went live on Facebook to say that the ‘administration cannot touch me’.” Doshi said. “It clearly shows that he was acting as per the orders received from higher-ups and the police were silent spectators to the incident. Not a single BJP leader has said anything about this incident,” he alleged. Doshi said the live-streaming of bogus voting in Santrampur was “only one example” of the many malpractices that occurred during the polling on Tuesday. “Why is the Election Commission still silent? They had claimed that polling would be live-streamed but was this what they meant by it? The officials of the Election Commission only did not wear the symbol of the BJP, but they sat in their chairs and worked for the BJP as well as the police. All these officers should go to the BJP office and formally join the party. The accused seen in the video is even revealing his mobile number to the viewers if they want to have similar bogus voting in other polling stations.” he further said. Showcause notice for polling officers When contacted, Chief Election Officer P Bharathi told The Indian Express, “Two persons have been arrested in the incident that has come to light and the police have taken action. We have sought a report from the Dahod returning officer. Once the report is available, we will be able to decide the further action regarding the polling in the affected booths.” Mahisagar DEO Neha Kumari has issued a showcause notice to four officers of the Prathampur polling station—Presiding Officer Kana Rohit, Assistant Presiding Officer Bhupatsinh Parmar and Polling Officers Yogesh Sobya and Mayurika Patel—for “grave indifference and negligence”. “It has come to light that the person named Vijay Bhabhor had indulged in bogus voting in your presence as election officers on duty. It does not appear from the video that you, as election officer, tried to prevent this bogus voting from taking place or reported the incident to the Additional Election Officer. It shows grave indifference and negligence on your part,” the notice read. The election officers have one day to explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them under the relevant sections of the Representation of the People Act.
