<p>All political parties make efforts to secure maximum votes and at times field dummy candidates to make a dent into the vote bank of their rivals.<br /><br /></p>.<p>But in the ongoing urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh, a panchayat belonging a particular caste did something different — it turned itself into an ‘Election Commission’ to make sure its community members’ votes did not split.<br /><br />The panchayat not only got ballot papers printed, but also appointed a returning officer and turned the house of a caste member into a polling centre.<br /><br />People of the community started casting their votes on Sunday. The officials got wind of the ‘polling’ and raided the premises, but voting agents and other persons managed to escape.<br /><br />The incident happened at Amorha in JP Nagar district. Ansari, a weaving community, is in majority in ward number 23 of Amorha municipality. Votes from this area have always been the deciding factor in local body elections.<br /><br />But this time there was a danger of a split in votes as there were three candidates in the fray from the Ansari community — Abdul Majid, Noor Faizi and Mohammed Yasir.<br /><br />If they continued to compete, the votes would have been divided, leading to the victory of rivals.<br /><br />The panchayat wanted only one candidate from the community, which meant two persons must withdraw their nominations. While Mohemmad Yasir withdrew, two remained in the contest.<br /><br />The panchayat then decided to hold a poll to find out who between them enjoyed majority support. The loser was supposed to withdraw from the elections.<br /><br />Though community members started casting votes, it came to a halt only after officials intervened.<br /><br />“The polling was illegal. Police have seized the voting material and an enquiry is being conducted. Action will be taken against the guilty,” said sub-divisional magistrate Nagendra Sharma. <br /><br />The ‘returning officer’, polling agents and other persons are absconding.<br /></p>
<p>All political parties make efforts to secure maximum votes and at times field dummy candidates to make a dent into the vote bank of their rivals.<br /><br /></p>.<p>But in the ongoing urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh, a panchayat belonging a particular caste did something different — it turned itself into an ‘Election Commission’ to make sure its community members’ votes did not split.<br /><br />The panchayat not only got ballot papers printed, but also appointed a returning officer and turned the house of a caste member into a polling centre.<br /><br />People of the community started casting their votes on Sunday. The officials got wind of the ‘polling’ and raided the premises, but voting agents and other persons managed to escape.<br /><br />The incident happened at Amorha in JP Nagar district. Ansari, a weaving community, is in majority in ward number 23 of Amorha municipality. Votes from this area have always been the deciding factor in local body elections.<br /><br />But this time there was a danger of a split in votes as there were three candidates in the fray from the Ansari community — Abdul Majid, Noor Faizi and Mohammed Yasir.<br /><br />If they continued to compete, the votes would have been divided, leading to the victory of rivals.<br /><br />The panchayat wanted only one candidate from the community, which meant two persons must withdraw their nominations. While Mohemmad Yasir withdrew, two remained in the contest.<br /><br />The panchayat then decided to hold a poll to find out who between them enjoyed majority support. The loser was supposed to withdraw from the elections.<br /><br />Though community members started casting votes, it came to a halt only after officials intervened.<br /><br />“The polling was illegal. Police have seized the voting material and an enquiry is being conducted. Action will be taken against the guilty,” said sub-divisional magistrate Nagendra Sharma. <br /><br />The ‘returning officer’, polling agents and other persons are absconding.<br /></p>