Congress and the Akalis on Wednesday virtually joined hands before the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency by-election results to attack the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for deploying “outsiders” to manage its polling booths despite the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) directions.
The Congress-Akali joint action against the AAP led to the arrest of ruling party’s legislator from Baba Bakala Dalbir Singh Tong, who was later released on bail. AAP’s another MLA, Daljeet Singh Bhola from Ludhiana district, was also removed from a polling booth.
Throughout the day, the videos showing the presence of “outsider” AAP workers and leaders in the Jalandhar parliamentary constituency was shared by the senior leaders of the Congress, SAD and BJP leaders. In many videos, opposition leaders were being seen chasing the “outsiders” and handing them over to the police. They even went live on Facebook to show how the ruling AAP was “violating the model code of conduct” by deploying outsiders for booth management.
To substantiate their claims, the leaders shared pictures and videos of AAP leaders from Moga, Dharamkot, Patiala, Bathinda, and other places having ID cards issued as poll agents in Jalandhar, along with a screenshot of their Facebook profiles.
Notably, the ECI had directed all outsiders to leave Jalandhar parliamentary segment, after the conclusion of campaign period at 6 pm on Monday. Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Jaspreet Singh had also issued an order on May 6 stating that no outsider should engage in election work in the constituency on the voting day.
The Akali-Congress action was primarily witnessed in the rural areas, including Phillaur, Shahkot, and Adampur, where several people from Majha and Malwa areas were seen moving around booths. Police complaints were received from nearly 30 places by the afternoon, with the Congress, SAD and BJP leaders going all out to get hold of the “outsiders”.
The development forced the police authorities to make announcements in several areas asking the “people from other districts” to leave the constituency and not to engage in election-related work.
Congress MLA from Shahkot Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia “caught” AAP’s Baba Bakala MLA Dalbir Singh Tong from booth number 92 in Rupewal area of the former’s constituency — the video of which was also widely shared. Laddi, in the video, can be heard asking the police to record his statement and take legal action against Tong.
Punjab Chief Electoral officer Sibin C, confirming the action against the MLA, said that the MLA of Baba Bakala, Dalbir Singh Tong was booked under Section 188 of the IPC and arrested for being in Jalandhar constituency and was later released on bail.
“After receiving photographs of outsiders present near polling booths, the police have been instructed to conduct checks and make public announcements urging those who are not voters in Jalandhar, to leave the constituency immediately,” he added. Sibin C said: “Throughout the day, the EC received several photographs of outsiders manning booths of political parties. We dispatched police teams, but no outsider was found in the area."
“Our people caught him and his cavalcade when he was trying to influence voters in our areas and we complained to the police, who took him along…He was moving freely in a car here. We blocked his car from all sides and prevented him from escaping. We called in the police and handed him over to them,” said Congress MLA Laddi.
BJP leader Sarabjit Singh Makkar also went “live” shared a video purportedly showing AAP MLA from Ludhiana district Daljeet Singh Bhola, being removed from booth number 105 in Jalandhar cantonment segment. In the video, the MLA was heard saying, “Do whatever you want” when Makkar was dialing the police.
“I received calls from Dheena village…people told me that an AAP MLA is intimidating people to vote for AAP,” said Makkar.
A purported video of Daljit Singh Bhola, being forced to get off a bike while he was moving about in Jalandhar, has also gone viral.
Congress MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, son of Congress candidate for Jalandhar bypoll Karamjit Kaur, also shared showing him getting hold of “outsiders” on Lakkar Mandi road in Phillaur constituency and then handing over to the police. They claimed that they had come to buy seeds.
An AAP leader from another district was seen in the cantonment constituency in a photo shared by Congress MLA Pargat Singh. “All polling agents have to be local persons but AAP's polling agent working in a booth in city Ashish Nayyar was found to be from Patiala. Another worker Baljit Chand Sharma has been caught by our party leaders from Adampur while being deployed as AAP agent there. Sukhcharan Brar, who is AAP worker from Bathinda, was spotted in Phillaur…Gurinder Singh Guggu of Moga was found working in Shahkot,” he alleged.
Cong Files Complaint against 6 AAP MLAs
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, in a statement, said that several AAP leaders openly violated EC guidelines that restrict leaders of other constituencies from election duty in poll-bound constituencies. “Punjab government deployed its leaders and their patrolling vehicles for the Jalandhar byelections…It is unlawful,” he said. He added that the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) had filed a complaint against several AAP MLAs — Tong, Jasbir Singh Sandhu of Amritsar (West), Daljit Singh Grewal Bhola of Ludhiana (East), Gurpreet Gogi of Ludhiana (West), Amolak Singh of Jaitu, and Ajay Gupta of Amritsar (Central) — for “being present in the Jalandhar constituency despite EC guidelines”.
Punjab BJP Complains against 5 AAP MLAs
Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma has also asked the ECI to take necessary action against the AAP for “violating EC guidelines”. Sharma has lodged a complaint with the ECI against at least five AAP MLAs and other office bearers present during bypoll in Jalandhar in violation of model code of conduct. The complaint sought “strict action” and registration of FIR against AAP Party MLA and leaders “Mandan Lal Bagha, MLA of Ludhiana (North), Daljeet Singh Bhola, MLA of Ludhiana (East), Gurpreet Singh Gogi, Jasbir Singh Sandhu of Amritsar West, Dalbir Singh Tong MLA of Baba Bakala, Sham Sundar, Chairman of Markfed and many other leaders of AAP and workers, who are involved in illegal activities along with their workers”.
AAP Denies Allegations
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said that no MLA of their party was in Jalandhar. “All of them were away from the poll-bound constituency…The photographs and video footage being shown by the Opposition could be old, of earlier elections or while they were campaigning in the area,” he said. AAP’s state general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat, reacting to the opposition’s allegations of wrongdoing, said: “The Congress and Akali leaders have nothing to say and are hence making these accusations. Most of our workers are back to their native places,”
Suspend DC, Commissioner, Senior Cops Who Colluded With AAP On Polling Day: SAD
SAD on Wednesday demanded immediate suspension of Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner of Police, and senior police officers of the Jalandhar parliamentary constituency “who had acted against the model code of conduct and colluded with AAP to ensure illegal benefit to its candidate during voting today”. Asking the ECI to take severe departmental action against the officers, SAD-BSP joint candidate Dr Sukhwinder Kumar ‘Sukhi’ said: “The officers are also guilty of misleading the Election Commission and have not informed the Commission of serious irregularities including goondaism done by AAP leaders and workers.”
Jalandhar records low voter turnout of 54% amidst minor clashes
Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday reported a low voter turnout of 54 per cent amidst the stray incidents of violence during the high stakes ballot battle. As per the final figures, a voter turnout of around 54 per cent was recorded, with the authorities concerned attributing the same to the hot weather conditions and holidays announced for two consecutive days by the administration owing to poll preparation.
