The Election Commission today said that a polling agent was arrested for influencing voters by repeatedly entering a polling booth in Faridabad during the sixth phase of voting in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Informing of the action taken against the individual, Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said that the man was arrested on Sunday afternoon.
“DEO Faridabad reported that the observer, Sanjay Kumar investigated the entire matter. The person in the video is the Polling agent who has been arrested in the afternoon itself. FIR is lodged. Report of observer will be examined by ECI,” Lavasa said on Twitter.
The matter came to light after a video of the incident went viral on social media, leading citizens to question the EC about the fairness of polls. The video shared extensively on social media platforms showed a man dressed in a blue t-shirt walking up to the polling booth and appears to be pointing at a particular button or pressing it himself on at least three different occasions.
Watch the video here:
ये विडियो किसी ने भेजा है और हरियाणा के फरीदाबाद का होने का दावा किया है| इससे क्या फर्क पड़ता है कि ये कब का और कहाँ का है? लेकिन हैरान और दुखी हूँ ये देखकर कि सिस्टम कई बार कितना नपुंसक हो जाता है? ये नीच हरकत है???? pic.twitter.com/R8SRQ6U5aP
— Anurag Dhanda (@anuragdhanda) May 12, 2019
As people continued to tag the EC on Twitter seeking action against the man, on Sunday, the District Election Office of Faridabad stated that the Observer enquired the matter personally and was satisfied that the “polling was never vitiated.” A polling agent is an individual assigned by a contesting candidate to oversee the entire process inside a polling station. The identity or affiliation of the arrested agent has not been disclosed yet.
The incident relates to a polling booth at Asawati in Prithala constituency of the district. According to the Faridabad DEO, the man “was trying to effect at least 3 lady voters”.
“Matter taken very seriously by the administration of Faridabad district. ARO Bharat Bhushan Gogia HCS rushed to the spot. Soon he was joined by the observer SH. Sanjay Kumar who investigated the entire matter.
“The person in the video is the Polling agent who has been arrested in the afternoon itself. FIR lodged. He was trying to effect at least 3 lady voters. Observer & ARO with teams visited the booth at Asawati in Prithala constituency. He is satisfied that voting was never vitiated,” the DEO said in a statement.