Datia (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 30 (ANI): BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday cast his vote in the Datia Assembly by-election and said the BJP’s objective was to win the seat and ensure development in the constituency.
“The intention is for the Bharatiya Janata Party to win and for Datia to see development; that is why the ‘Lotus’ button was pressed,” Mishra told reporters after casting his vote.
He expressed confidence in a good voter turnout and hit out at Congress over its allegations against the BJP.
Speaking to ANI, Mishra said the Congress’ allegations over “why the BJP is stationed here” reflected the party’s “desperation and despondency”, and expressed confidence that voters would back the BJP and its development work.
“This statement reflects the Congress party’s desperation and despondency. Whenever they lose, they invariably level some allegation or another. The public will vote in favour of the BJP and the development work it has undertaken,” he said.
On questions about his emotional reaction over the injuries sustained by BJP workers, Mishra said it was unrelated to any electoral defeat.
“I became emotional over the injuries sustained by my party workers, not because of the defeat. I haven’t even lost an election; my ticket was cancelled. Where does the issue of defeat come in when I was emotional about something else?” he said.
Meanwhile, Datia Collector Swapnil Vankhede said polling began peacefully across the constituency and that no untoward incidents had been reported.
“Today, on July 30, peaceful voting began at 7 AM across all places, and peace is being maintained everywhere. No incidents have been reported from anywhere,” Vankhede said.
He added that faulty voting machines at three locations had been replaced following due procedure.
“At some places, one place had a faulty CU, one place had a faulty BU, and one place had a faulty VVPAT, which had to be replaced. It was replaced under CCTV surveillance and with the signatures of agents from all political parties. Voting is ongoing at all places,” the Collector said.
Voting is underway on Thursday for the Datia Assembly by-election, with the counting of votes scheduled for August 3.
The Datia seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti on April 2 under the provisions of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution.
The BJP has fielded Ashutosh Tiwari, while the Congress has nominated Ghanshyam Singh. Tiwari replaced Narottam Mishra as the BJP candidate. Mishra had represented Datia for three consecutive terms from 2008 to 2018 but lost the seat in the 2023 Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, voting is also underway for the Manjalpur Assembly by-election in Gujarat.
BJP leader Jay Prakash Soni cast his vote in Vadodara, while Congress candidate Bhikhabhai Rabari appealed to voters to exercise their franchise.
“In a democracy, voting is a right for all of us. I also appeal to the public to turn out in large numbers to vote. Vote for whomever you wish, but do cast your vote,” Rabari told reporters.
The Manjalpur seat fell vacant following the demise of sitting BJP MLA Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel. (ANI)
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