Srinagar
As the Lok Sabha polling in state’s Jammu and Baramulla constituencies commenced on Thursday morning, parts of Poonch district witnessed a bizarre incident that forced the voters to leave the stations.
Reports reaching here suggest that voters from 23 polling stations including Gagrian A, Gagrian B, 96 Gali Pindi, 8 station MS tath Jhulas, Khari Dharmsala, Shahpur Dupria, Shahpur, 23 Delara, 148 khorinar Poonch city, 165 Khari, Pleara B, Balnoi 84-C M S Balnoi left home in the morning without casting their vote due to non-functioning of the voting machines.
In a video, which has created a buzz on social media a polling agent from Loran Poonch says that voters including men and women had arrived around 6:30 at the government Middle school Loran to cast their vote, but after finding out that number four button of the voting machine is not-functional everybody left from the spot. The button at the fourth position is of Congress.
The man in a video further said; “first we find out that 4th button is non-functional than another machine was given but that too didn’t t work properly. “When locals came to know about the fault, they all left without casting their vote,” one of the polling agents from Loran said.
The reports were confirmed by the NC leader Omar Abdullah who used Twitter to disseminate the information about the Loran.
Earlier, locals alleged that three EVM’s were found at Mandi Poonch Bus stand PVT Hotel in Poonch on Wednesday. The machines were later shifted to Police station.
In yet another polling station, in the same Loran belt, the video of which was doing rounds on the social media, the residents alleged that a BSF official was telling voters – mostly Gujjars, why they are not voting for the BJP. The video shows the people protesting and making allegations against the BSF. They even alleged that the particular official picked a battle with the voters.
