Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, May 3: The Janata Dal (United) candidate for the Tali assembly constituency in Kra Daadi district, Jikke Tako, has requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct fresh poll at the Gimba polling station at the earliest.
Addressing a press conference at Arunachal Press Club here on Friday, Tako said the polling team for Gimba did not reach the polling station, and that several genuine voters are seeking fresh polling there since 25 April.
Reportedly, the SP of Kamle district, John Pada, who had been assigned to monitor the re-polling at the Gimba polling station, also wrote to the Kurung Kumey district election officer (DEO), informing that the polling team had not reached Gimba.
Pada in his report informed the DEO that the deprived voters of Gimba are mostly students, women and elders who came from different parts of the state and are now facing acute shortage of food and other logistical issues.
“Genuine voters of Gimba are being harassed as they are waiting for the polling team to arrive. Therefore I appeal to the ECI to conduct fresh polling at the earliest,” Tako said.
He also denied the BJP’s allegation that his workers had damaged the suspension bridge over the Kumey river, which resulted in the polling team being stranded on the opposite bank.
“How could we have damaged the bridge since we were anxiously waiting for the polling team at Gimba? Their claim that JD (U) workers damaged the wire suspension bridge is totally false and baseless,” Tako said.
On the contrary, he claimed that BJP workers intentionally damaged the suspension bridge, so that the polling team would not be able to reach the Gimba polling station.
“They damaged the suspension bridge and held the polling team back at Dotte and conducted the voting under duress, which is already mentioned in the presiding officer’s report,” Tako claimed, adding that damaging the bridge was a well-planned act to capture the booth.
“On the basis of someone’s mere allegation, if the election commission is holding it for long, it is injustice,” he said.
Confirming that the polling team was stranded at Dotte village and could not reach Gimba on 27 April, the chief electoral officer here said the date of the fresh polling will be issued soon.
According to the report of the presiding officer of the Gimba polling station, due to public pressure, the poll was conducted at the nearest polling station, Dotte, on 27 April.
The total percentage of voting was 45.81.
Org seeks adequate security for re-poll
Meanwhile, Guchi-based Talam Abu Society (TAS) has requested the chief secretary (CS) to deploy adequate police and central paramilitary forces to maintain peaceful atmosphere along the road from Tamin to Gimba via Guchi village before re-polling takes place at the Gimba polling station.
Expressing concern over the “prevailing law and order situation in connection with the Gimba polling station,” the TAS in a representation to the CS also condemned what it described as “illegal and unlawful activities along the route from Kabak to Gimba via Guchi village by the JD (U) party.”
“The areas under our jurisdiction have been free from any law and order problem for many years and the peace-loving people of the areas cannot tolerate noisiness in the name of simultaneous elections,” the TAS said in its representation.
In another representation, to the governor, TAS general secretary Talam Mama sought the governor’s intervention, and requested him to “stop carrying of EVM along with election team for 3rd re-poll in Gimba polling station” in view of the prevailing law and order situation there.
