A violent incident disrupted the polling in the Parli assembly constituency of Maharashtra today when a polling booth was vandalised, and a local leader from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was assaulted, reported PTI.
The incident unfolded in the Bank Colony area of Parli town, where local NCP leader Madhav Jadhav, who hails from Ghatnandur, was attacked by a group of individuals. The assault was captured on video and quickly went viral across social media platforms.
Following the attack on Jadhav, the situation escalated further when a polling booth in Ghatnandur was targeted. The assailants reportedly entered the booth, damaged the electronic voting machine (EVM) by throwing it to the ground, and destroyed nearby furniture.
Beed District Collector Avinash Pathak confirmed the incident and assured that swift action had been taken. After the damage to the EVMs, the administration immediately replaced the faulty machines and voting resumed without further disruption. Maharashtra exit polls Live updates
This incident has triggered political debate, with the opposition demanding enhanced security measures at polling booths. The NCP has condemned the violence, demanding a thorough investigation and punishment for those behind the attack on its workers.
Meanwhile in Uttar Pradesh, where bypolls are going on parallel across multiple constituencies, clashes erupted between BJP and Samajwadi Party workers at the Kanpur Government Inter College polling booth after an alleged stone was thrown at the BJP candidate’s car. In response, party workers staged a dharna outside the booth and raised slogans.
Furthermore, the Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended at least four police officers in Muzaffarnagar and Kanpur after the complaint of checking voters’ identity cards.