Tonk, Rajasthan: There has been a political upheaval in Rajasthan’s Tonk district after what can be described as a sensational case of an independent candidate and an administrative officer. Violence started late on Wednesday with a bid to arrest Naresh Meena, an independent candidate and the former Congress member, whose supporters immediately came out to protest against the actions of the police. The clash soon became intense that the police deployed tear gas to quell the protesters after Meena’s fans were accused of burning and destroying vehicles. During the chaos, Meena independently fled the police arrest, and officer had to work hard to regain the authority.
Flare of the drama emerged on Wednesday afternoon when voting for the by-election of Devli-Uniara assembly constituency in Tonk was taken. It is alleged that she physically assaulted Malpura SDM Amit Choudhary, who was posted in poll duty in a polling booth. Some of the pollje watchers who testified in the event claimed that Meena who was upset by certain incidents that took place at the polling station, took the collar of SDM Choudhary and slapped him.
Tonk Collector and District Election Officer Soumya Jha said the clash arose after two groups squared off over the local voters of Samravat village. People had announced to boycott the election in order to be transferred from Nagar Fort tehsil to the nearest Uniara tehsil. The polling officials had kept the access to the polling centre open and SDM Choudhary was try to persuade the villagers to go for voting he accused that Meena assaulted him.
Meena’s backing of the voter boycott trend is also a regional problem; the Samravat villagers had lifted their demand earlier, which was promised to be looked into after the Model Code of Conduct of the election was lifted on October 30. Villagers had found an ally in Meena, the Congress candidate who was contesting the election as an independent candidate after the fallout with the party.
The murderous chaos followed on Wednesday evening when the police tried to apprehend Meena. Activists fought back and there were scuffles in which police officers fired tear gas and pro-government protesters allegedly attacked police vehicles. The escaped effort by Meena was reported after she was allegedly retrieved by a team of local police, which complicated the search.
At the moment things remain tense with police trying to regain the stability in the region. This has attracted pressure on the governance issues in local areas and amplified the frustration of the voters. The events involving the search for Meena and the violence may still be felt in the days following the by-election and beyond by authorities as they try to measure the effects of the event on the by-election and the mood in Tonk district of Rajasthan.
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