From wedding cards seeking votes to Facebook post from voting booth – 101 FIRs for poll violations filed in Jharkhand

The FIRs, filed between March 18 and June 1, include 49 against the BJP and its allies and 18 against INDIA parties

People wait a polling station to cast their votes in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in Jamtara, Jharkhand. (PTI)

As many as 101 FIRs were filed in the period between March 18 and June 1 for alleged Model Code of Conduct violations in Jharkhand, including 49 against the BJP and its allies, 18 against INDIA parties, and the rest against individuals without a stated political affiliation or unidentified persons.

Distribution of voter slips with the message “Is baar 400 par, phir ek baar Modi sarkar (Once again Modi government, this time 400-plus)” within 100 metres of polling booths accounted for 19 FIRs filed across eight constituencies.

An FIR was also filed against one Prem Sagar Sahu of the AJSU party, a BJP ally, for allegedly uploading images on Facebook of him voting and showing the EVM.

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In Ramgarh district of Hazaribagh constituency, one Puran Kushwaha was booked for allegedly distributing wedding invitation cards urging people to vote for Modi “in national interest”. Another FIR was filed for a similar offence in the same constituency against unknown persons.

Cases registered against INDIA bloc parties included alleged assault on advertisement vehicles, organising unauthorised road shows, assaulting and molesting BJP workers, and promoting enmity by denouncing or defaming a national leader.

JMM Cabinet minister Mithilesh Thakur was among those booked for MCC violation. CPI(ML)’s Vinod Singh, the INDIA candidate from Koderma, was also booked for giving a political speech on the occasion of Sarhul festival. An FIR was filed against Congress MLA Shilpi Neha Tirkey for organising a rally in the cooling period.

Kunj Bihari Mishra, Pankaj Kumar Manjhi, and Devi Marandi of the VHP, as well as the Basukinath Seva Trust, were booked for allegedly luring voters by distributing freebies in Dumka.

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An FIR was also filed against BJP MLA and candidate Dhullu Mahato for allegedly organising a rally without informing authorities, and against BJP MP and candidate Sanjay Seth for allegedly using the photos of gods in a rally.

Other cases against people with no affiliations include beating and abusing voters, and for putting up videos while voting, including of EVMs. Some mukhiyas of panchayats were also booked for starting a new scheme while the MCC is in place.

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