Villagers Boycott Vote Over Unfulfilled Train Stop Promises at Murali Halt
The administration denied boycott claims, yet no voters were seen heading to the polling booths, prompting allegations of coercion.
RAJMAHAL – The Rajmahal administration denied Inayatpur booth boycott claims, yet no voters were seen heading to the 2 Inayatpur polling booths, prompting allegations of coercion.
Panic ensued within the administration upon receiving information about a vote boycott in the region, prompting immediate action from officials.
General Observer Saurav Pahari, SDO Kapil Kumar, SDPO Vimlesh Kumar Tripathi, LRDCC Vimal Kumar, BDO Uday Kumar Sinha, and Teenpahar police station in-charge Mo Shahrukh rushed to the scene to address the situation.
The officials engaged with the villagers, urging them to participate in the democratic process and exercise their voting rights.
However, the appeals were ineffective as the villagers remained firm in their stance.
They cited repeated unfulfilled promises regarding the stoppage of the Rajmahal-Tinpahar TR passenger train at Murali halt as their primary grievance.
The villagers declared that they would not vote until the train started stopping at their halt.
Contrarily, Gopinath Mandal, a government employee who returned to his village from Bokaro for voting, cast his vote at the booth with his family.
By 11 am, only 76 out of 1036 voters at booth number 176 had voted, while booth number 177 saw just 14 out of 527 voters exercise their franchise.
The administration denied the boycott claims, yet no voters were seen heading to the polling booths.
Villagers accused the administration of coercing votes from government employees while common voters abstained.
Kamal Kumar, a political party booth agent at booth number 176, stated that voting commenced without his presence, which violates election regulations.
A complaint was lodged with the election officer on the scene.
The situation underscores ongoing tensions and the critical need for addressing voter grievances to uphold democratic integrity.
