Weapons, alleged kidnapping, court intervention, security and a series of FIRs – a long way from the Opposition’s “vote chori” allegations, high drama surrounds an election in Nainital, for its zila panchayat president’s post.
Traditionally, the zila panchayat has been run by the BJP, with its Bela Toliya winning as president in the 2019 poll. However, the battered Congress has been gaining ground and was hoping to win the Nainital panchayat this time. In the other 11 zila panchayats in Uttarakhand for which results were declared recently, the BJP won presidents’ post in 10, with the Congress only winning in Dehradun – making the Nainital result, now pending in court, critical for the party.
Disturbed over the violence that took place on the day of polling on August 14, the High Court Monday said that SSP P N Meena should be transferred.
The Congress first went to the court on the eve of polling, alleging a ploy to rob it of the panchayat president’s post. Congress candidate Pushpa Negi expressed apprehension that free and fair polling may not take place, hinting at bias on the part of the Assistant Returning Officer.
Taking note of Negi’s plea, the court said: “Each vote matters… Statements have been given on behalf of the state as well as the State Election Commission that elections shall be free, fair and in a transparent manner.”
However, on the morning of August 14, as the 27 members of the zila panchayat gathered to cast their votes, they were accosted by over 10 men, armed with swords and guns. The Congress alleged that when it tried to fight back, five of the members supporting it were “kidnapped”.
A Congress member of the zila panchayat, Poonam Bisht, said they were heading to the voting venue around 10.30 am when they saw a large crowd. “Suddenly, a group of men in raincoats appeared and dragged away five people walking ahead of us… They had swords and guns, and we did not know how to respond. An hour later, we approached the High Court as this was happening despite its orders,” says Bisht, who has been a member of the zila panchayat for over a decade.
The court ordered protection so that the members could vote freely. However, the five “kidnapped” members remained missing.
“Three candidates in the zila panchayat had won on the Congress ticket and 12 were Independents backed by the party. It was our 15 against the BJP’s 12, and we were going to win. They orchestrated this (violence) to hinder our success,” says Negi.
Eventually, in the results, Negi lost to BJP candidate Deepa Darmwal by one vote – a result the Congress has challenged in the High Court.
A police officer says the High Court asked them to find the five allegedly kidnapped panchayat members, “but we could not recover them”. “The next day, they themselves contacted us at the Tallital Police Station. Since the FIRs alleged abduction, their statements were recorded before a magistrate.”
In their statements, the five said they were not abducted but had decided to skip voting on their hand “under pressure from both parties”.
Among those named in an FIR filed by Negi is BJP district president Pratap Bisht, who denies violating any rules but refuses to comment on allegations that he was part of the group that “attacked” and “kidnapped” five panchayat members.
An FIR has also been filed by Vinod Kotilya, the brother of one of the “kidnapped” zila panchayat members Pramod Kotilya, against around two dozen people, 15-20 of them unknown. Kotilya has said his brother Pramod was going to cast his vote when a group of men, including allegedly the husband of BJP candidate Deepa Darmwal, “launched a murderous attack”.
On August 16, the BJP filed a counter-complaint, with Darmwal accusing Congress leaders of disrupting the poll. She claimed that four members were with her when she went to vote. “But some unknown persons and MLAs Yashpal Arya (the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly), Sumeet Hridaysh and Bhuvan Kapri, and former MLA Sanjeev Arya attempted to assault and take them away,” she said.
During the High Court hearing Monday, videos of a group wielding swords near the polling booth were played. One of them showed panchayat member Dikar Singh Mewari being dragged away.
On Tuesday, Uttarakhand Congress president Karan Mahra posted a video allegedly showing that the attackers were led by BJP leaders.
Police have made one arrest and identified 15 people for the August 14 violence. The police officer quoted above said: “The remaining 14 have been issued notices and an officer has been suspended for failing to inspect the vehicle (for weapons) in which the accused arrived in the city on August 13.”
SSP Meena said more action was underway. “Allegations have been made by leaders of both parties, but we are not going by their affiliations.”
BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt cited the party’s victory across panchayats, including more than 85% of the gram pradhan posts and over 70% of the block pramukh seats, to underline its dominance. On the other hand, Bhatt said, the Congress had contested only four of the 12 seats in the Nainital district panchayat (winning three).
“Out of the 89 block pramukh posts, it fielded candidates for just 7. What kind of election enthusiasm is this? Everywhere else, the contest was only between the BJP and Independents, the Congress was nowhere to be seen.”