Mumbai: Villagers in Markadwadi ready to solid their votes as soon as once more on Tuesday morning. With a voting sales space, poll paper and counting field prepared, they waited to start out a mock election by 8 am. However, the police and native administration stopped them. After a backwards and forwards, the proposed voting stood cancelled.
Solapur’s Markadwadi village falls throughout the Malshiras meeting constituency, from the place the Nationalist Congress Get together (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate Uttam Jankar received towards his opponent from the Bharatiya Janata Get together—Ram Satpute—by a margin of 13,147 votes. Nonetheless, in Markadwadi, Jankar polled fewer votes, 843, towards Satpute’s 1,003, in line with the booth-level election outcomes.
Suspicious about how their votes largely went to the BJP regardless of them historically supporting Jankar in earlier elections, villagers in Markadwadi demanded a re-poll. After the native administration rejected the request for a re-poll, they pressed for a mock ballot.
Nonetheless, on Monday, the police imposed Part 144 in Markadwadi as a safety measure. The following day, villagers couldn’t go forward with the mock ballot.
“We have been going to start out the election course of this morning, however the administration could be very agency in not letting us go forward. They stated if we go forward, they are going to press costs towards us,” Uttam Jankar, the NCP-Sharad Pawar MLA from Malshiras, advised the media on Tuesday.
“They stated they’d take away the (voting) equipment and wouldn’t take heed to us. Roughly 250-300 folks had gathered. Not many individuals got here because of the menace from the administration. We’d like no less than 1,500-odd folks to verify the outcomes. So, we is not going to go forward with this election and consider different methods,” he added.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Narayan Shirgaonkar advised the media, “We aren’t resorting to any autocracy. We’ve got imposed BNS 163 (which corresponds to IPC 144) and are prohibiting gathering of individuals. We’re simply informing folks about it. If they don’t observe it, we’ll press costs accordingly.”
Earlier on 29 November, the villagers wrote to the native administration, elevating suspicions in regards to the EVMs used within the lately concluded Maharashtra meeting polls. The letter, a duplicate of which ThePrint has accessed, stated Jankar couldn’t get fewer votes than Satpute from Markadwadi and requested the native administration to supply for the federal government equipment required to conduct a poll paper-based mock ballot on 3 December.
Nonetheless, the election officer in Malshiras rejected the request. Writing again, Vijaya Pangarkar stated, “The Markadwadi village submitted an software for the federal government equipment to conduct a re-poll and for the outcome to be declared. They even stated that they organized for the cash and sources. However there isn’t a provision for such a mock ballot on poll papers after the completion of the election course of. It’s unlawful, and therefore now we have denied permission and won’t assist this.” ThePrint has a duplicate of the letter.
Markadwadi has a inhabitants of roughly 2,000, and 1,900 of them voted within the meeting polls. In keeping with the villagers, the outcome on the sales space degree just isn’t attainable as a result of all of them consider in Jankar and are his followers. They are saying Satpute, who has historically received 200-300 votes, can not get a lead from their village.
Of their letter, the villagers shared the earlier election knowledge to show their level. Within the 2014 meeting election, of the 1,538 voters from the village, 979 voted for Jankar’s candidate whereas 294 voted for the opponent. Within the 2019 meeting polls, of the 1,672 voters from the village, 1,346 voted for Jankar’s candidate whereas 300 voted for the opponent. Within the 2024 Lok Sabha election, of the 1,683 voters from the village, 1,021 voted for Jankar’s candidate and 466 for the opponent.
Additionally Learn: Devendra Fadnavis isn’t any Shivraj Chouhan. But his fear is rising as Modi-Shah dither
‘Villagers paid Rs 2-3 lakh for mock polls’
Jankar belongs to the Dhangar neighborhood, and Markadwadi has a majority Dhangar inhabitants. Since 2009, the villagers have been voting for Jankar or a candidate backed by him, these approached by ThePrint stated. They wrote to the native administration about how they voted overwhelmingly for Jankar and that there was “no means Satpute obtained 160 extra votes than Jankar”.
On Monday, when ThePrint spoke to some villagers gathered for the mock ballot, they appeared decided to see the election course of by.
“We simply need to know what’s true and what’s not,” stated Vijay Patil, a villager. “There may be doubt over the EVM course of. That’s the reason we wished the election on the poll paper.”
Amar Ghorpade, one other villager who turned livid after the native administration refused to allow them to vote, stated, “Why are they stopping us? It isn’t their enterprise. We solely need to clear our doubts, so allow us to vote.”
The villagers stated they’ve been making ready for the mock polls for the previous 5 days. From arranging postal ballots to organising the sales space area, they spent almost Rs 2-3 lakh, Jankar advised the media.
Nonetheless, with Part 144 imposed in Markadwadi until 5 December, the police have the facility now to problem orders in case of a nuisance or in the event that they apprehend hazard. So, regardless of villagers gathering to conduct the mock ballot, Jankar referred to as off the election after discussions with them.
Nonetheless, Jankar stated, “This battle will go on. Within the subsequent 8-10 days, we’ll march in the direction of the native administration workplace. We plan to organise a mob of no less than 25,000 to 50,000 from throughout the constituency. However till and except we get justice, I cannot cease.”
“Ideally, the federal government and administration ought to allow us to go forward with this course of to clear our doubts,” he stated. “The villagers demanded re-poll; the election officer didn’t permit it. The native administration stopped us. The police threatened to take our gear if even one vote went into the counting field. The federal government is scared.”
He additional stated the method would have been dwell on tv channels and set an instance to all folks within the state.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Additionally Learn: Shankarrao Chavan to Fadnavis, Maharashtra CMs who had to surrender submit & accept a downgrade
