Date:05/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120554600500.htm

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Stray violence mars Rajasthan polling

Special Correspondent

65 to 68 per cent turnout registered; long queues of voters reported at many places

Complaints of EVMs developing technical snags reported at many places
Over a dozen persons injured in clashes in various parts of the State

Photo: PTI

Exercising their right: Women on their way to cast their votes for Rajasthan Assembly elections at Lavana near Jaipur on Thursday.

JAIPUR: Stray incidents of violence and clashes between various political and caste groups marred polling for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly on Thursday with an estimated 65 to 68 per cent of the 3.62 crore electorate exercising their franchise. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel kept a vigil during the polling across the desert State.

More than 42,200 polling booths in the Assembly constituencies in the country’s geographically largest State witnessed long queues of voters during the nine hours of balloting which ended at 5 p.m. There were 2,194 candidates, including 151 women, in the electoral race.

Clashes between supporters of different political parties and complaints of electronic voting machines (EVMs) developing technical snags were reported from various places. There were sporadic incidents of stone-throwing, firing in the air, attempts for booth capturing, damage caused to vehicles and skirmishes and fight among individuals.

One person suffered bullet injuries near Balghat village in the Todabhim constituency of Karauli district when a supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party dissident leader Kirorilal Meena allegedly fired on a group of Gujjar voters on their way to a polling booth. The alleged culprit was later arrested and identified as Hola Singh Meena.

According to police sources, a Central Reserve Police Force jawan fired in the air to disperse a violent crowd at Badikhera village in Ladpura constituency of Kota district. No one was injured.

While polling in Tushar village of Newai constituency in Tonk district could start only in the afternoon with the villagers demanding resolution of their grievances before casting of votes, members of a Dalit community laid siege to a police station at Mahuwa in Dausa district alleging harassment by higher caste people. The Dalit voters were later escorted to the polling booth.

Elsewhere in the State, a dozen persons were injured in clashes at Degana in Nagaur district, Kaman in Bharatpur, Kanota in Jaipur and Tehla in Alwar district. A sarpanch at Badi in Dholpur district reportedly fled with an EVM from the polling booth and the machine was brought back with great difficulty.

State Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Zutshi affirmed that polling was not disturbed anywhere and the turnout of voters was steady throughout the day after the polling started on a brisk note in the morning. As many as 12 districts and over 8,400 polling stations had been declared sensitive where security was beefed up in advance.

Mr. Zutshi said the final figures of polling percentage would be received from all constituencies by Friday and the decision, if any, about a re-poll in the areas of disturbances would be taken after that.

Governor S. K. Singh and his wife Manju Singh faced an awkward situation when they had to wait for over 25 minutes for casting their votes with the EVM at their polling centre at Yash Vidya Mandir in Civil Lines here developing a snag. The machine was later replaced.

Mr. Singh told reporters that he wanted to “set a precedent” by being the first one to exercise his franchise in his capacity as the first citizen of the State. He could not do so and had to wait until the EVM was changed.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje cast her vote at Government Naveen Middle School in Topkhana area of Jhalawar. She is contesting from Jhalrapatan in Jhalawar district.

The opposition Congress is contesting all the 200 Assembly seats, while the ruling BJP has fielded its candidates in 193 constituencies and allotted the remainder to its associate parties in the National Democratic Alliance. The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded its candidates for all seats except one.

During the election campaign, both the major parties facing the heat of rebellion and factionalism raised the common subject of development and attacked each other on the issues of corruption, duplicity and policy failures. The BJP tried to bring in terrorism as a political issue by highlighting the recent Mumbai terror strikes and accusing the Central Government of being soft on terrorism.