Digital Desk |
Jaipur, Nov 6 (IANS) Stone pelting and arson were reported at a vote-counting centre in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district following the announcement of Gram Panchayat election results late on Thursday night, while several prominent political families witnessed electoral setbacks in the third phase of the Panchayati Raj elections.
In Navaghara Gram Panchayat, under the Kherwara Panchayat Samiti in Udaipur district, violence broke out after Pushpa Devi was declared the winner at around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday. According to locals, supporters of the defeated candidate became agitated as the winning candidate was being escorted from the counting centre towards her residence. They allegedly pelted stones at the counting site, set fire to property and vandalised several vehicles parked on the premises.
Police teams, including personnel from Bawalwada, rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Fire brigade personnel were also called to extinguish the flames.
In another incident, a dispute erupted during vote counting in Darr Barahna Gram Panchayat under the Bayana Panchayat Samiti in Bharatpur district. Vimla Kumari was initially declared the winner by just one vote after two rounds of counting.
However, the rival candidate and her supporters alleged that three votes had not been counted, triggering a commotion. Bayana SDM Alka Srivastava reached the spot, following which it was decided to conduct the counting at her office.
The elections also witnessed defeats for candidates belonging to prominent political families. Kapil Meena, son of BJP MLA Shanta Meena from Salumbar, lost the Sarpanch election in Semari Gram Panchayat. His late father, Amritlal Meena, had also served as a BJP MLA.
Kamala Parmar, the sister-in-law of Congress MLA Dayaram Parmar from Kherwara in Udaipur, also lost the Sarpanch election. She had contested from the Mahuwal Gram Panchayat under the Nayagaon Panchayat Samiti. Her husband, Pannalal, the MLA’s brother, contested from Ward 6 of the Panchayat Samiti on a Congress ticket and is among the contenders for the post of Pradhan.
The Panchayat Samiti election results are scheduled to be declared on November 20.
Shobha Bhardwaj, wife of Mahendra Bhardwaj, who served as media advisor to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, won the Sarpanch election from Deoli in Tonk district. She defeated her rival, Manju, by 124 votes.
Tamma Kanwar, aunt of Chittorgarh MLA Chandrabhan Singh Aakya, was also elected Sarpanch from Aakya village under the Bhadesar Panchayat Samiti.
In Mandfiya, Rajkumar Vaishnav, son of former Shri Sanwaliya Temple chairman Kanhaiya Lal Vaishnav, also registered a victory. In Jalore district, Chhaganlal Bhil won the Sarpanch election in Kumbhiya Gram Panchayat under the Chitalwana Panchayat Samiti, defeating Ugam Devi, wife of Naib Tehsildar Virmaram, by 13 votes. Veji Devi, mother of Dr Narsiram Chaudhary, personal assistant to Sanchore MLA Jivaram Chaudhary, was elected Sarpanch from Dabal village. Supporters celebrated her victory by lifting the PA onto their shoulders.
In Dausa district, a commotion broke out at the Baroli polling booth following allegations that the seal of a ballot box had been broken.
Meanwhile, Mausam Meena, wife of Narcotics Control Bureau officer Dharam Singh Meena, won the Sarpanch election in Ganipur Gram Panchayat under the Sikrai Panchayat Samiti.
In Udaipur district, Kanhaiyalal Ahari won the Sarpanch election in Kalyanpur Gram Panchayat, with supporters celebrating the victory through dancing.
Separately, election official Mohammad Luqman suffered a heart attack while counting votes in Rajmahal Gram Panchayat under the Deoli Panchayat Samiti in Tonk district. He was admitted to Deoli Sub-District Hospital and subsequently referred to a higher medical centre due to his critical condition.
The election results also included the victory of Nausar Devi, who was elected Sarpanch of one of Rajasthan’s smallest Gram Panchayats.
Polling for the post of Up-Sarpanch (deputy village head) is being held on Friday as part of the third phase of the Panchayati Raj elections. Elections for the posts of Panch and Sarpanch were conducted on Thursday across 3,716 Gram Panchayats, with results declared late Thursday night.
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