Asaoti booth repoll: 65% voter turnout amid tight security

May 12 voting was cancelled after clip of man pressing EVM button for others surfaced

A voter shows her inked finger outside the Asaoti polling station on Sunday.

Around 65% voters turned up to exercise their franchise during repolling for the Lok Sabha election at Asaoti polling station (booth no. 88) in Prithla village under Faridabad parliamentary constituency on Sunday amid tight security arrangements.

The polling at the booth was held on May 12 but was later cancelled by the Election Commission after a video surfaced showing a polling agent pressing buttons on the EVM on behalf of some voters.

Faridabad Lok Sabha Returning Officer Ashok Garg said that polling went off peacefully and the turnout was recorded at 65%.

He said that forces were deployed in adequate number and there was no instance of violence or rigging.

Security arrangements

In unprecedented security arrangements inside and around the booth, more than a hundred police personnel, including Central Reserve Police Force staff, were deployed and barricades were put on both ends of the road outside the booth, which was set up at a senior secondary school. While vehicles, including two-wheelers, were not allowed to go past the barricades, around half-a-dozen police personnel were stationed at the entrance to the booth to prevent any unauthorised entry.

Coming out from the booth, Vimla, a local resident, said the polling was peaceful, but there was a long queue and the voters had to wait for a long time before they could cast their votes.

She said that like the last time no one interfered with her casting the vote. Mamta Devi echoed similar opinions. Parvesh, a first-time voter, said she had cast her vote for a stable and good government, and faced no issues.

Subhash, who runs a tea-stall close to the booth, said that security for the polling was unprecedented. “I have seen dozens of elections over decades, including Panchayat elections, but the level of security this time matches none,” said Mr. Subhash (65), a voter at booth number 88.

Minor altercation

However, a minor altercation took place between the BJP and Congress workers almost an hour after the polling, following which the BJP workers raised slogans, shouting PM Narendra Modi’s name. The administration intervened to prevent the situation from getting out of hand.

Former Congress MP and party’s Faridabad candidate Avtar Singh Bhadana, who visited the booth in the morning, said that Dalits and women in the village were oppressed by the “upper caste” and there was a “Taliban-like” atmosphere there.

He, however, expressed satisfaction with the arrangements put in place.