Congress rebel candidate Naresh Meena, contesting Assembly bypolls as an independent candidate in Deoli-Uniara constituency, on Wednesday slapped Malpura sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Amit Choudhary at a polling station in Deoli subdivision.
The incident was caught on camera and the video soon went viral on social media. The incident took place at Samravata polling station. The video shows Meena walking into the polling booth, slapping SDM Amit Choudhary who was on duty to oversee election protocol.
The video then shows some policemen catching the leader by the hand and dragging him away from the scene. Later, Meena and his supporters sat on a dharna on the spot.
Speaking to the media later, Meena alleged irregularities in voting, claiming he had been “informed that the SDM had allowed three fake voters to cast their vote”, Indian Express reported.
“The public got agitated when they saw those three workers under the SDM cast their vote but I handled the situation,” he claimed.
Reacting to the incident, Tonk district collector Saumya Jha said Choudhary had been asked to file a report.
“The SDM Amit Chowdhary is with us right now. We have called him back and he is filing a report on what happened at the polling station. Based on the report and police investigation, an FIR will be registered against the candidate. Further information will be provided after the report is submitted,” he said, IE reported.
“The SDM posted here used three of his people and made them vote,” Meena alleged on X. “Now the entire police force is here and has surrounded us. I would request people to go out and reply with their votes. Hit them with votes,” he added in a video message.
Meena, a former Congress leader, was recently suspended by the party for contesting as an independent after it nominated Kastor Chand Meena over him for the Deoli-Uniara by-election. Backed by the Bharat Adivasi Party, Naresh Meena’s decision to run independently stirred concerns over potential vote splits in the bypolls.
The by-election for the Deoli-Uniara seat was necessitated after Congress leader Harish Chandra Meena, who won the seat in 2018 and 2023, vacated it to serve in the Lok Sabha following the general election.
Voting for seven assembly seats across Rajasthan, including Deoli-Uniara, took place on Wednesday under tight security, with over 9,000 personnel deployed across 1,914 polling stations. Results will be declared on November 23.