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EC cancels Jharkhand RS polls after Rs 2.15 cr seized

Author: Express News Service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: March 31, 2012
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ec-cancels-jharkhand-rs-polls-after-rs-2.15-cr-seized/930797/0

In an unprecedented step, the Election Commission (EC) has countermanded election to two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand that went to polls today amid apprehensions of “horse-trading”.

The commission had earlier asked officers to withhold counting and announcement of the results pending orders, following seizure of Rs 2.15 crore cash by Income-Tax authorities from a vehicle reportedly owned by the brother of one of the Independent candidates barely hours before polls.

Late in the night, the EC wrote to the President requesting that the March 12 notification for the election be “rescinded”.

Controversy has surrounded the current RS polls in Jharkhand from the beginning, with at least six candidates initially entering the fray for two seats. NRI businessman Anshuman Mishra later had to bow out following divisions within the BJP over support to him.

The BJP had then decided to stay away from voting. However, this had spurred apprehensions of horsetrading.

Today, the BJP took a last-minute call to vote for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Sanjiv Kumar. While he looked set to win, the other seat remained up for grabs.

In another violation of the voting procedures, of the 79 out of 81 MLAs who cast their vote today, Vishnu Bhaiya (JMM), K N Tripathi (Congress), and Suresh Pashwan (RJD) allegedly showed their ballot papers to persons other than their respective party agents. A report in this regard was sent to the EC, and only prompted the crackdown.

“After taking into account all relevant facts and circumstances... the Commission is satisfied that the current election process for the Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand has been seriously vitiated and cannot be permitted to proceed,” the EC said.

Jharkhand Income Tax Department Director Ajay Kumar said that the Innova from which Rs 2.15 crore was seized belongs to Suresh Agarwal, “the younger brother of R K Agarwal”. An Independent, R K Agarwal was backed by the JMM in the RS polls.

The cash came from Sumitra Shah, R K Agarwal’s son-in-law who runs Shah Sponge and Power Ltd, I-T Commissioner Ajit Srivastava told The Indian Express, quoting the statement of Sudhanshu Tripathi. Tripathi, an accountant at Shah’s firm, was in the Innova along with driver Inder Ram.

Denying that the money was meant to buy votes, Agarwal said: “I am ready to cooperate with the investigators. But before they conclude investigations, I should not be treated like an offender. I am a bona fide citizen and a social activist.”

Tripathi told the investigators that he was to give the cash to one Khandelwal of a Ford Ikon showroom in Ranchi.
 
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