HC intervention leads to poll time extension
Ramavatar Saini
Alwar: In an unprecedented incident, 18 newly elected councillors of Khairtha-Tijara district were allegedly detained by police in neighbouring Haryana hours before voting for the chairperson post Monday, forcing the election returning officer to extend the polling time after high court’s intervention.The voting concluded late at night, and in the subsequent counting Ramavtar Saini, who contested on the Congress symbol, was declared elected as chairperson, securing 18 votes against his rival Subhash Saini, who received 16 votes, while one vote was rejected.Earlier, Tijara’s ward 18 councillor Hemlata alleged that she, along with 17 other councillors, was kidnapped by individuals associated with BJP MLA Mahant Balaknath, stating that women and children were mistreated and that she was held at gunpoint by Haryana police. All councillors were allegedly separated and kept in different locations. MLA Balaknath dismissed these allegations as baseless, asserting, “Haryana police will answer why they stopped them.”It was alleged that these 18 councillors had been sequestered by Congress at a location in Shimla, Uttarakhand, prior to the crucial election. Their troubles began late Sunday night when they were intercepted by police at the Chandimandir toll plaza in Haryana while en route to Tijara.Accompanying the councillors was former Congress MLA Sandeep Yadav, who claimed that police took them into a nearby jungle. A video circulated on social media featuring Bharat Saini, the husband of independent councillor Babita Saini, supported these claims, saying, “There were 18 councillors (in a bus). Nine were separated from us, and cops are driving around the rest in a police vehicle.”Tijara Municipal Corporation elections, contested for 35 seats, saw independent candidates dominate, with 31 winning. Congress, securing just one seat, pledged its support for independent councillor Ramavtar Saini for the chairperson’s post.In response to the alleged kidnapping, Congress office-bearers staged protests at Tijara and outside the Panchkula police station in Haryana, accusing police of detaining their councillors to manipulate the election results. The bus containing the detained councillors was allegedly found at Panchkula police station.The situation escalated, leading to Congress district president Balram Yadav accusing BJP of conspiring with Haryana and Rajasthan police to derail the electoral process. Following widespread calls for intervention, a petition was filed with Rajasthan High Court, which ruled in favour of the councillors, extending voting hours from 2 pm to 10 pm. Only 16 ward councillors had managed to vote by 1:40 pm, citing unforeseen circumstances for the delay.
