Independent candidate and former Congress member Naresh Meena allegedly slapped a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) during a confrontation outside a polling booth in Rajasthan’s Deoli-Uniara constituency on Wednesday. The incident occurred as bypolls were underway across seven assembly seats in the state.
Meena reportedly entered the booth and slapped SDM Amit Choudhary, who was overseeing election protocol. A video shared by IANS shows police attempting to restrain Meena as tensions escalated at the scene. Following the incident, the police escorted Meena out of the polling station.
Meena claimed that the SDM had allowed three voters to cast their votes secretly, which led to public agitation. He also alleged that the Election Commission’s electronic voting machine (EVM) displayed his election symbol unclearly, causing confusion for his supporters.
In a later video message, Meena said, “I am sitting on a dharna with the villagers of Samraota panchayat. The villagers demand that their panchayat be moved under the Uniara sub-division, which is 15 kilometers away from their village, instead of Deoli, which is 50 kilometers away. We want the Tonk collector to come here and write a letter to the chief minister to request that our village be placed under the Uniara sub-division again.”
Meena, who filed as an independent after being denied a Congress ticket, had previously been suspended by the party for opposing its official candidate, KC Meena, in the Deoli-Uniara bypolls. He contested the election as a rebel after Congress opted not to field him.
The bypolls, taking place in Deoli-Uniara and six other constituencies — Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Khinvsar, Chorasi, Salumber, and Ramgarh — follow a series of vacancies. Four of the seven seats are currently held by Congress, while two bypolls were called due to the deaths of sitting MLAs: Congress MLA Zubair Khan in Ramgarh and BJP MLA Amritlal Meena in Salumber. The remaining five seats became vacant after their MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.
Voting across the seven seats will continue until 6 p.m. and results expected on November 23. In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) currently holds 114 seats, while Congress controls 65 seats.