Panchayat polls: Over 65 per cent voting in Prayagraj

PRAYAGRAJ, April 15 (HS): Amidst a pandemic surge, the voting for first phase of UP panchayat polls was held here on Thursday in which over 65 per cent of the voters exercised their right to vote. Several instance of bogus voting, manhandling and minor scuffles were reported for the election to 23,350 posts in three-tier panchayat elections. The official figure of voting percentage till 5 pm was 57.24%. In Mahua village, under Karchana police station in trans-Yamuna area, scuffle broke out between booth agents over a Corona infected person allegedly casting his vote. A person identified as Rajkumar Bind sustained serious head injuries and admitted in a hospital.

Fight was also witnessed in Kumwar Patti village in Meja and Melha in Karchana, where rival factions of two contestants indulged in verbal duel over bogus voting, which later turned into a wrestling arena and nearly dozen persons from both the sides sustaining critical injuries. Police has arrested nearly a dozen persons after receiving the information. Two zila panchayat candidates came to blows with each other, outside polling booth in Kanigada village of Meja. In primary school Kahra in Saidabad, a bucket filled with water was thrown on the ballot box after argument between two candidates, which disrupted the voting process for hours. Incidents of stone pelting were also reported in some areas. Meanwhile, rampant and persistent grouse remained that candidates are being ferried to and from the polling booth.