A polling agent was arrested on Sunday for allegedly trying to influence voters at a booth in Asaoti in Faridabad, Haryana, during the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Officials took action after a video showed a man in a blue t-shirt walking up to the polling station repeatedly while people were trying to vote. He seemed to have either pressed a button or pointed out a party symbol to at least three voters. He was identified as a polling agent – people appointed by contesting candidates to oversee the process.
It is not yet clear which party the man belonged to. BJP leader and Union minister Krishan Pal Gurjar is seeking re-election in Faridabad. His opponents are the Congress’ Avtar Singh Bhadana and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Pandit Naveen Jaihind.
The Faridabad District Election Office said the “observer enquired the matter personally and is satisfied that polling was never vitiated”.
Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa confirmed that the polling agent was arrested on Sunday afternoon. “DEO Faridabad reported that the observer, Sanjay Kumar, investigated the entire matter,” Lavasa said on Twitter. “The person in the video is the polling agent who has been arrested in the afternoon itself. FIR is lodged. Report of observer will be examined by ECI.”
All 10 constituencies of Haryana went to the polls on Sunday. Faridabad recorded a voter turnout of 64.88%. Six of the seven phases of the General Elections have concluded, with the last phase scheduled on May 19.
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