Sharad Pawar's NCP worker assaulted, polling booth vandalised in Maharashtra's Parli

A Sharad Pawar-led NCP worker was attacked in Parli, sparking polling booth vandalism. Voting resumed after damaged EVMs were replaced, with authorities ensuring vote data safety.

In Short

• Polling booth vandalised in Maharashtra's Parli constituency
• NCP worker Madhav Jadhav assaulted, video viral
• EVMs damaged, replaced; voting resumed safely

A polling booth was vandalised and a worker of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) was assaulted on Wednesday in Parli assembly constituency, from where minister Dhananjay Munde of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP is seeking re-election, an official said.

Madhav Jadhav, a local leader of the Sharad Pawar-led party was assaulted in Bank Colony area of Parli town and the video of the assault went viral on social media, after which a polling booth at Ghatnandur in the constituency was vandalised, an official said.

Jadhav hails from Ghatnandur.

Some people entered the polling booth at Ghatnandur, threw the EVM on the ground and damaged the furniture in the booth, the official said.

Beed Collector Avinash Pathak said that after some persons tried to damage EVMs at Ghatnandur, the administration replaced the EVMs and voting resumed.

The data of votes cast through the earlier EVMs is safe in their control units and will be included during counting, he said.

“We are taking strict action against those who tried to damage the EVMs,” he said.

The NCP (SP) candidate from Parli assembly constituency, Rajesaheb Deshmukh claimed that a CCTV camera was disabled at a polling booth in Dharmapuri in the constituency.

In a viral video, a visibly annoyed Deshmukh can be seen talking to the polling staff about the "detached" cable of a CCTV camera and demanding to know who had done it.

Deshmukh later told reporters that the CCTV had been made dysfunctional.

“People from minority communities are not being allowed to come to the booth to vote. Someone else is pressing the button (on EVM). If this is the case, why do we even need an election? It seems the administration is merely completing a formality,” he claimed.

Polling in all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.