Javatri, 60, has been a witness to several elections over the past four decades and has exercised her franchise every single time. However, this time when she went to cast her vote at booth number 87 in a senior secondary school here on May 12, she experienced something which she had never faced before.
Still seemingly upset over her bitter experience, Javatri claimed that as soon as she reached the cabin after an official marked her finger with ink, a young man standing near the EVM inside the booth pressed the button on her behalf. When she confronted, he told her that her vote was cast. What bothered her the most was the fact that no one intervened, not even the police.
“The policemen were sitting there as if they had come to their relative’s house,” said Javatri, with a palpable sense of anger.
In fact, following the cancellation of the election at booth number 88 here over allegations of “influencing” the voters after a video went viral, several Dalit and Muslim residents of this Thakur-dominated village under Prithla Assembly constituency have now come forward claiming that the upper caste dabangs (musclemen) had cast ballot on their behalf in two more booths — 86 and 87.
On behalf of Dalits
Thirty-five-year-old Sunita, a Dalit, claimed that a man pressed the button next to lotus symbol before she could exercise her franchise at booth number 87 and told her to go.
Chanderpal, a mason, alleged that around 8-10 unauthorised people were present inside booth number 87 and were casting votes on behalf of Dalits. He claimed that many voters were told to return saying their votes were cast.
“When I complained to the police I was told that the men were merely helping the elderly and the women,” said Chanderpal. He said though rigging was common in sarpanch election, it was for the first time that it happened in the Lok Sabha election. Vidhya, 80, said a teenager cast her vote saying that she may face difficulty in seeing the party symbols. Ramwati, 70, claimed that three young men at booth number 87 offered to help her cast the vote, but backed off when she strongly objected.
Palwal Bahujan Samaj Party president Kamal Gautam said around 150 men and women, including Muslims, in the village had gathered when Congress leader Avtar Singh Bhadana visited on Wednesday evening and claimed large-scale rigging at booth number 86 and 87 and sought re-election.
Capturing booths
He said there were around 6,000 voters in the village, including 2,000 Dalits who traditionally voted for the BSP. “In fact, all the four booths in the village were captured by the dabangs and the votes were cast for the BJP on the behalf of the Dalits. It was done at the behest of a Thakur from the village, an aspirant for BJP ticket for the upcoming Vidhan Sabha election,” said Mr. Gautam. He said a few of them objected, but were too scared to put up a strong protest.
Mr. Gautam also demanded a separate booth for Dalit voters in the village to ensure that they could vote without fear.
BSP’s Faridabad Lok Sabha candidate Mandheer Singh Maan has also given a written complaint to Returning Officer Ashok Garg seeking re-election to booth number 87.
Tayyab Khan, a cab driver, and his wife Shabnam claimed that the secrecy of their votes was compromised and a couple of men inside booth number 86 watched while they cast their ballot and disclosed it to others as well. “Though my wife and I were not prevented from casting our votes, I saw the men inside the booth pressing a button on behalf of an elderly women,” claimed Mr. Khan.
Mumtaz, another resident, claimed that the men inside a booth in the village cast vote on her brother-in-law’s behalf leading to an altercation, following which no one in her family went to cast the vote. “What freedom is this when we cannot even cast our vote with a free will?” asked Ms. Mumtaz. She said that her husband complained about it in the presence of Mr. Bhadana and someone recorded it and made it viral. She said that her family was now getting threats from the villagers.
Allegations denied
A tailor, not willing to be named, claimed that he was a first-time voter, but someone else pressed the button on his behalf. “I felt very bad,” he said. He was registered as a voter at booth number 86. However, a few others in the village dismissed the allegations of rigging as “politically motivated lies”.
Mr. Garg said a complaint had been received regarding rigging at booth number 87 and the matter was under investigation.
