An independent candidate from Punjab who contested the Lok Sabha elections was in tears after claiming he he had received just five votes despite having nine voters in his family. Neetu Shuttern Wala, who contested from Jalandhar constituency, admitted on air that even his family members had betrayed him.
Wala, in an interview to Punjabi daily Jag Bani, broke down before the camera while expressing his disappointment with his family. He also alleged that EVMs had been tampered with ahead of results. The interview clip went viral, with some calling it the “biggest election story” of the day.
In the interview, the anchor asked if he had received just five votes, to which Wala replied “Sir there are 9 votes from my family but I have only received 5.”
When asked if his family hadn’t voted for him, he replied,”No sir, they have been dishonest in voting.”
Here’s the rest of the conversation:
Journalist: What did you think while you were campaigning? Do you think there has been some mistake? But from the nine votes at home you have only got five?
Wala: There has been dishonesty, the machines were tampered. People swore that they have voted for me.
Journalist: What do you think? Anything you would like to say?
Wala: I won’t fight in the election again. If the outcome is like this what is the point? I fought the election with a lot of difficulty.
Journalist: You are going to give up so quickly?
Wala: Sir what can I say… I have only received 5 votes.
Journalist: You are saying there were 9 votes from your family, but your family didn’t support you. So what can you expect from others?
Wala: Nothing. According to me, those people who went to vote are thieves. The ink is applied to make sure a person doesn’t vote more than once, so these people are like thieves. I don’t know what they did. I won’t fight elections again. I contested with a lot of difficulty but in vain.
People said it was the biggest election story
This is the biggest election betrayal story we must really be talking about!!! https://t.co/a54KknPOgg
— Parth Badheka (@Mt_Parth) May 24, 2019
This is epic😂
Parivaar 9
Vote mili 5 ! Bhai isiliye Ro rah hai https://t.co/hKomfGOxMA— Thakur Sahab (@Angry_Engg) May 24, 2019
One shouldn’t laugh on someone’s failure. But this one got me😂😂😂😂#ElectionResults2019 https://t.co/cXFRd4eMxQ
— Akshat Pandey ✨ अक्षत पांडेय (@aksh_pande) May 24, 2019
Tch tch tch… Bichara… Agar ghar wale bhi khade rahe election ko Phir bhi aayega toh Modi hi!! 😂 😜 😜 😜#ApnaModiAayega #AbkiBaar300Paar https://t.co/vmGqxdQWrU
— Vishal D (@DViShall) May 24, 2019
Funniest thing I saw all day. His own family betrayed him! 😂 https://t.co/bQhledfyoD
— Unnikrishnan R (@karmakomik) May 23, 2019
Can’t stop laughing 😂😂😂 https://t.co/9RlVliHApy
— Ankita (@ayenkita) May 23, 2019
If you think it’s a bad day for congress today, take a look at this guy. ‘Neetu shutteran vala’, independent candidate from jalandhar got only FIVE votes. He has a family of nine. pic.twitter.com/Ig7ptEwEqi
— Dh (@_xLNc) May 23, 2019
😂😂😂🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/aSVlQ6ZW8Z
— @nv! :) (@Anvi008) May 23, 2019
I’ve seen this video more than 10 times since morning and still it sounds funny😂.. Feel bad for him though
— Muhammad Shoaib (@Shabi_says) May 23, 2019
However, his disappointment with his family and friends turned out to be premature. The final results declared by the Election Commission said that Wala managed to get 856 votes and finished 19th among the 20 contestants.
Congress’ Santokh Singh Chaudhary won the seat with 38,5712 votes. It’s not clear if Wala will contest in an election again.