Polling suspended after candidate’s name goes missing from ballot paper

Shimla: Polling was suspended in a ward in the Karsog sub-division of Mandi district on Tuesday after the name of a candidate contesting for the Block Development Committee (BDC) was found missing from the ballot papers.The lapse came to light when polling started in the morning at 7 am, and the candidate, Hoshiar Singh, who was among the first voters, found his name missing from the ballot paper.As Singh and his supporters raised the issue and complained, the polling staff immediately informed the Mandi deputy commissioner, Apoorv Devgan.The DC, after directing Karsog SDM Gaurav Mahajan to reach the polling booth and informing the state election commission about the lapse, suspended the elections.An official informed that polling for the BDC post in the ward comprising Thach, Thermi, Parlog and Mendi panchayats was deferred and a fresh date for the election would be announced shortly.Meanwhile, polling at the Sheetalpur booth in the Doon assembly constituency of Solan was briefly suspended after a clash broke out between two groups outside the polling station.The dispute reportedly started over jostling in the voting queue and soon escalated into a scuffle. The police personnel present at the site separated the warring groups and brought the situation under control.Polling was also affected in a ward in the Haroli sub-division of Una district after a scuffle broke out between two groups waiting in the voting queue.The residents of Bharoli Kalan panchayat under ward number 1 in the Jhandutta sub-division of Bilaspur district boycotted the panchayat elections over their long-pending demand for a road to the village.The residents said the village road had remained unpaved for the last 35 years despite repeated appeals to the administration and elected representatives.Centenarian voter Manglu Devi (Box)Centenarian voters added a special spirit to the first phase of panchayat elections as several elderly residents turned up at polling stations to exercise their franchise across the state on Tuesday.In Bilaspur, 113-year-old Manglu Devi cast her vote at a pink polling booth set up in Seu gram panchayat in the Ghumarwin sub-division of Mandi district. A resident of Bhadrog village, Manglu Devi, reached the polling booth with her family members.Bilaspur DC Rahul Kumar praised her spirit, saying that she is an inspiration for the younger voters.Specially-abled voters also cast their votes. Many of them came to the polling booths in wheelchairs, and others were helped to the polling stations by their family members.MSID:: 131330682 413 |