Tijara, September 22 (Daily Kiran) : Political tensions surrounding the Tijara Municipal Council elections escalated on Monday. Delays in council members reaching polling stations prompted the Rajasthan High Court to intervene, extending the voting hours first to 8 PM and then to 10 PM. The results were announced shortly after, revealing that Congress candidate Ramavatar Saini secured the chairperson position with 18 votes.
Returning Officer Divya presented the election certificate to Saini. The Tijara Municipal Council comprises 35 council members, with a minimum of 18 votes required to win the chairperson role.
The controversy reached the Rajasthan High Court after allegations surfaced that Congress-supported council members were detained in Haryana while returning from a camp in Himachal Pradesh. Congress leaders claimed that the councillors were held near Panchkula, preventing them from arriving on time to vote.
A single bench of the Rajasthan High Court, presided over by Judge Anoop Kumar Dhanda, heard the case. The court directed the ADM of Bhiwadi to report the incident to the State Election Commission. Following these developments, the voting deadline was extended to ensure the election process could continue smoothly.
Initially set to conclude at 8 PM, the deadline was pushed to 10 PM due to the late arrival of councillors. According to the State Election Commission’s guidelines, if all councillors had cast their votes before 10 PM, the counting would have commenced immediately after.
Earlier that morning, around 3:30 AM, former MLA Sandeep Yadav, along with District Congress President Balram Yadav and candidate Ramavatar Saini, visited the Returning Officer’s residence. They demanded that the elections be postponed until the detained councillors were safely brought to Tijara. Subsequently, a complaint was lodged with the SHO of Tijara police station, Jai Prakash.
Congress leaders claimed that some councillors expressed concerns via video messages, indicating they were taken to an unknown location and feared for their safety. Following these events, Congress workers staged a protest outside the police station. They also alleged that former MLA Sandeep Yadav was detained for several hours near Farrukh Nagar, close to Gurugram.
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