Man Detained for Live-Streaming Inside Poll Booth, Bogus Voting During Lok Sabha Polls in Gujarat

Gandhinagar: A man was detained in Dahod, Gujarat, for allegedly engaging in fraudulent voting. The incident occurred after he live-streamed from inside a polling booth during the Lok Sabha elections.

According to officials, the man, identified as Vijay Bhabhor, is the son of a local BJP leader. The Congress party has accused him of “insulting democracy” by broadcasting the live video on Instagram from the booth.

The police in Mahisagar district took Bhabhor into custody following a complaint filed by the opposition with the Election Commission. Although Bhabhor deleted the video after it received criticism, it had already gone viral on social media. The incident is currently under investigation by the Dahod Returning Officer, Nirgude Babanrao.

During the third phase of the general elections, polling took place in 25 constituencies out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. Notably, the BJP candidate in Surat secured an unopposed victory.

The incident occurred at a polling booth in Parthampur, Mahisagar district, falling under the Dahod parliamentary constituency. Mahisagar Superintendent of Police, Jaydeepsinh Jadeja, reported that Bhabhor allegedly engaged in fraudulent voting by going live on Instagram and casting votes on behalf of two other electors. Action is being taken based on the FIR registered by the presiding officer under the Representative of the People Act.

Prabha Taviad, the Congress candidate in the constituency, is challenging incumbent MP Jasvantsinh Bhabhor.

Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi demanded repolling at booth number 220 in Parthampur in response to the incident. Doshi accused Bhabhor of “booth capturing” and insulting democracy by creating the live video.

The video shows Bhabhor focusing the camera on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine. He allegedly sought additional time from a poll official, even when asked to leave. In the video, Bhabhor claimed that “only the BJP works here” and pressed a button on the EVM, stating that “only Vijay Bhabhor works here”.