Congress MLA Chetan Patel Kolana of Kota (Raj) raised concerns on Wednesday about the conduct of the election for the chairman of Sultanpur municipality. He said that while his party workers were detained by law enforcement, unauthorised individuals linked to the ruling BJP were allowed into the polling venue.
The election saw Congress candidate Mukesh Meghwal lose the chairmanship by a single vote to BJP’s Anita Meghwal, who secured 13 votes.
Kolana explained that when he and elected Congress members arrived to vote on Monday, police had stopped them at barricades 200 metres from the polling centre. Officers assured him that no unauthorised persons or other parties would be permitted past the barrier. However, after he left for Itawa, vehicles carrying BJP members and supporters breached the barricades and entered the restricted area, sparking a commotion when Congress workers questioned the breach.
He denied allegations that Congress workers had thrown stones, saying there is no video or photographic evidence of such an incident and that only a minor threw a stone in response to the breach. Patel accused the police of using lathi charges, beating innocent citizens and wrongfully detaining local workers.
Kolana said he blocked the road as a public representative to protect democratic norms after police refused to release detained workers or act against the unauthorised individuals. He called the case filed against him baseless and described the incident as a failure of police neutrality and an attempt to suppress democratic accountability.
