Jaipur: A shocking incident of violence marred the Rajasthan by-election on Tuesday as independent candidate Naresh Meena was caught on video slapping a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) at a polling booth.
The incident, which took place at the Samravata polling station in the Deoli-Uniara constituency, has sparked outrage and raised serious questions about the safety of the staff conducting the election in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led state.
The video footage shows Meena, a former Congress leader, entering the polling booth and slapping SDM Amit Choudhary, who was on duty to oversee election protocol before police intervened and stopped him.
Meena, who was suspended by the Congress for contesting as an independent after the party nominated Kastor Chand Meena for the by-election, alleged that the SDM had used three of his own people to vote. He urged voters to respond to the alleged irregularities with their votes, calling on them to “hit them with votes.”
“The SDM posted here used three of his people and made them vote. 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,” Meena stated.
The Deoli-Uniara by-election was triggered by the resignation of Congress leader Harish Chandra Meena, who won the seat in 2018 and 2023 after he was elected to the Lok Sabha in the recent general elections.
The by-election, along with six other assembly seats, is being held under tight security, with over 9,000 personnel deployed across 1,914 polling stations. A total of 69 candidates are vying for these seats, and the results are expected on November 23rd.
