Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar and Himanshu Kapoor
Ahmedabad/New Delhi: Stoking a huge controversy, Narendra Modi on Wednesday landed himself in a soup by displaying BJP symbol and making a speech in a polling booth in violation of electoral laws following which police filed an FIR against him.
The police action came after the Election Commission took serious note of the BJP prime ministerial candidate`s violation of the electoral laws, under which no person can display any election matter or address a meeting in a polling booth on the day of election, and ordered filing of FIR against Modi.
Promptly, the crime branch police in Ahmedabad filed an FIR against Modi him for displaying BJP`s election symbol `Lotus` and making a speech after casting his vote in Gandhinagar.
"Two FIRs have been registered by the city crime branch in connection with the events," Gujarat DGP P C Thakur told PTI.
One of the FIRs is against television channels which broadcast the press conference.
Sources in the crime branch said that as per EC directive FIRs have been registered invoking provisions under the Representation of the People Act, which provides for imprisonment upto two years.
Below are the events as they happened -
7:30 pm Polling for the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha polls has ended with Bengal seeing heaving voter turnout of nearly 82%. Bihar registered 60% votes and Punjab saw 73% electorate casting their vote. In Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, the turnout was 57% and 70% respectively. 62% votes were cast in Gujarat, where BJP`s PM nominee Narendra Modi was among the millions who exercise their franchise. While in two Union Territories, Dadar Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, 85% and 76% cast their ballot, respectively.
LS polls: Record 73% voters turnout in Punjab; polling peaceful
Over 81 percent polling in Bengal, opposition claims massive rigging
LS polls: 58 percent vote in Bihar
26 percent voters turnout in Srinagar amid tight security
LS polls: Gujarat records 62 percent voting
6:30 pm Heavy polling in Bengal till 5 pm with nearly 80% voter turnout, while Uttar Pradesh records 54% polling and Punjab 64% till 5 pm.
6:15 pm Following the Election Commission orders, two FIRs have been registered against BJP`s PM candidate Narendra Modi for violating code of conduct in Ahmedabad by Gujarat police.
4:40 pm Reacting to the Election Commission notice on BJP`s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the party said that the model code of conduct was not violated by Modi. BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters that the party will abide by the EC`s decision adding that no code of conduct was violated by Modi. "We respect EC, whatever EC`s verdict will be, we will abide by it. According to us Mr.Modi did not violate any code of conduct," Lekhi said.
4:20 pm Following the Election Commission`s order, the Gujarat police will file an FIR against its Chief Minister Narendra Modi after for delivering a politically charged speech and displaying the BJP`s poll symbol, lotus.
3: 50 pm Around 73% votes have been polled in Bengal till 3 pm, while Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have registered a voter turnout of 48% and 46% respectively till 3 pm. Polling in Jammu and Kashmir have been low with only 26.55% turnout. Meanwhile, Punjab has seen heavy polling with 54.7% votes cast.
3: 40 pm The voter turnout in Gujarat has been recorded at 45% till 3 pm. Meanwhile, Telangana also saw brisk polling till 3 pm with 59% electorate casting their ballot. In Rae Bareli, voter turnout was 39%.
3 pm EC order on Narendra Modi: "The Commission is of the view that by holding that meeting and also by addressing the same today when the polling is going on in the entire state of Gujarat and in different parts of the country, Narendra Modi has violated the provisions of Sections 126 (1)(a) and 126 (l)(b) of R P Act 1951.”
"Therefore, the Commission directs...That complaint/ FIR as the case may be, should be filed against Narendra Modi and all others who were involved in the convening and holding of the said meeting...," the EC order said.
It has asked the Gujarat Chief Secretary and DGP to send a compliance report by 6 pm today.
It also said that all the TV channels and other electronic media which carried the proceedings of the meeting and displayed the election matter should also be proceeded against under Section 126 (l) (b) "by filing separate complaints/FlRs against those channels."
1:50 pm The Election Commission has asked the DGP of Gujarat and state chief secretary to initiate action against Narendra Modi for displaying the BJP poll symbol `Lotus` near the poll booth after he cast his vote today.
The poll panel`s action came after Ahmedabad Collector and Returning Officer Roopwant Singh sent a report to the Chief Electoral Officer. "We have sent a report to the CEO. We have sent a preliminary report. Shall submit video clip," Singh said.
As per the Election Commission norms, if a party candidate canvasses within the radius of 100 metres of a polling booth, then he can be booked for violation of model code of conduct.
12:45 pm Acting on a complained filed by the Congress, the Election Commission has sought a report from the district Collector of Ahmedabad on Narendra Modi`s press conference earlier today.
12:30 pm Poll percentages till 11 am: 25% in Punjab, Bihar, UP; 22% in Gujarat.
12:20 pm: Keeping up with the stellar voter turnout recorded in previous two phases of Lok Sabha polls 2014 in West Bengal, 44% votes were cast till 11 am in nine constituencies of the state - Howrah, Uluberia, Serampore, Hooghly, Arambagh, Burdwan (East), Burdwan—Durgapur, Bolpur and Birbhum.
12:10 pm The Congress has moved the Election Commission demanding an FIR against Narendra Modi after he displayed his party symbol `Lotus` and addressed the media after casting his vote.
In its complaint to the EC, K C Mittal, secretary, AICC legal department, said, it is "noticed from the live news telecast on various news channels that Modi went to the polling station at Gandhinagar to cast his vote.
"And on his way out he was campaigning for BJP and delivering speech in a fashion to canvas for BJP, himself and also displayed the election symbol to the public while showing his finger for having cast his vote," the party said.
11:35 am BJP veteran LK Advani casts his vote in Gandhinagar. His a five-time MP from the Gujarat capital.
11:25 am 15.3% votes were cast in Telangana till 9 am. Bihar is also voting in strength with 19% polling recorded till 10 am.
Read: Telangana Elections Live: Brisk polling in initial hours
11:10 am I am sure people of Lucknow will vote for me; we will certainly get more than 300 Lok Sabha seats, says BJP president Rajnath Singh.
Read: Rajnath Singh votes, hopes for Lucknow poll win
10:55 am BJP`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi voted in Ahmedabad and later clicked a selfie and posted the picture on Twitter.
Read: Narendra Modi shares a selfie after voting
7:55 am Voting is underway in nine Lok Sabha constituencies and bypoll for one state assembly seat in West Bengal Wednesday. Trinamool Congress had won five of the nine seats in 2009.
7:53 am Andhra Pradesh governor ESL Narasimhan among early voters in Hyderabad
7:50 am All 13 constituencies in Punjab are voting today. Key battleground seats are Amritsar, Patiala, Bhatinda, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur. Amrinder Singh`s son Raninder Singh claims that the Congress will all 13 seats in Punjab.
7:45 am It`s big day for Telangana as voters in the newly formed state will also elect its first assembly along with representatives to Parliament. Elections are being held in 119 Assembly constituencies and 17 Lok Sabha seats
10:20 am Poll percentages till 9 am: West Bengal 25%, UP 9.35%, Gujarat 9%. 14% voting in Punjab till 10 am.
9:55 am Congress leader and Tollywood megastar Chiranjeevi faced the ire of voters after he broke the queue at the polling booth. An embarrassed Chiranjeevi later join the line to cast his vote.
9:50 am Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal casts his vote, says NarendraModi is fit to be the PM of the country.
9:25 am Holding the lotus symbol of the BJP in his `inked` hand, Narendra Modi made a feverish poll pitch from Ahmedabad. A confident Modi said, “Maa-bete ki sarkar gayi (time up for the mother-son government)and it can`t be saved. The foundation for the new government has already been cast, now the voting is for ensuring a strong and stable government.”
“This is an election of hope. It is bringing a new trust. These elections will give new strength to the nation. On 16th May the message will be clear. There will be a strong government led by BJP. There is no confusion of that,” he added.
Chiding the Congress, Modi said the party has accepted defeat given the way they`re giving statements of aligning with Third Front.
Modi asked the electorate to “Vote for a glorious future of India”, adding, “Don`t forget Nirbhaya. Don`t forget unemployed youth. Don`t forget farmers committing suicide. Don`t forget how our soldiers were beheaded.”
Also Read: Modi casts vote, says `maa-bete ki sarkaar to gayi`
Also Read: Narendra Modi flashes BJP`s symbol, irks Congress, AAP
9 am Narendra Modi casts his vote in Ranip under Gandhinagar constituency.
8:50 am Fortunate to be a voter in Advani`s Parliamentary Constituency, says Narendra Modi.
On my way to vote. I consider myself extremely blessed & fortunate to be a voter in Advani ji's Parliamentary Constituency.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2014
Will continue the campaign with rallies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh http://t.co/zUOLNQ2Rgp
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2014
8:40 am Via the media, special appeal to Dalits and backward classes to vote. Appeal to all to vote: Mayawati after casting her vote in Lucknow
8:15 am Congress` Lucknow candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi and party`s challenger to Narendra Modi in Vadodara, Madusudan Mistry confident of convincing wins in their respective constituencies.
Read: We will win convincingly: Madhusudan Mistry
8 am Voting began for seven seats of Bihar and bypoll for one state assembly seat. Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Pappu Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Kirti Azad are among the key candidates facing the electorate.
7:25 am People should come out in large numbers and cast their vote, appeals Arun Jaitley
7 am Voting began in the 7th phase of Lok Sabha polls 2014 in 89 constituencies spread across seven states and two union territories. BJP`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are among the high-profile candidates in the fray today.
While Modi is contesting from Vadodara (he is also contesting from Varanasi), Sonia is fighting the electoral battle from Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Amrinder Singh, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, K Chandrashekhar Rao, Farooq Abdullah and Sharad Yadav are among the other senior leaders whose fates will be decided today.
Gujarat (26/26)
Constituencies: Kachchh, Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Anand, Kheda, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Chhota Udaipur, Bharuch, Bardoli, Surat, Navsari, Valsad
Key candidates: Narendra Modi (BJP) -Vadodara, Liladharbhai Vaghela (BJP) - Patan, LK Advani (BJP) - Gandhi Nagar, Paresh Raval (BJP) - Ahmedabad East, Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya (BJP) - Rajkot, Madusudan Mistry (Congress) - Vadodara, Mohanbhai Patel(AAP) - Surat, Dilipbhai Patel (BJP) - Anand
Punjab (13/13)
Constituencies: Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgharh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala
Key candidates: Vinod Khanna (BJP) - Gurdaspur, Arun Jaitley (BJP) - Amritsar, Amrinder Singh (Congress) - Amritsar Santokh Singh Chudhary (Congress) - Jalandhar, Ambika Soni (Congress) - Anandpur Sahib, Pream Singh (SAD) - Anandpur Sahib, Ravneet Singh (Congress) - Ludhiana, Kulwant Singh (SAD) - Fatehghar Sahib, Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD) - Bathinda, Preneet Kaur (Congress)-Patiala, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan (SAD) - Faridkot
Uttar Pradesh (14/80)
Constituencies: Dhaurahar, Sitapur, Misrikh, Unnao, Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Kanpur, Jalaun, Jhasi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Barabanki
Key candidates: Kuwar Jitin Prasad (Congress) - Dhaurahra, Jasmir Ansari (BSP) – Sitapur, Rita Bahuguna Joshi (Congress) - Lucknow, Rajnath Singh (BJP) - Lucknow, Jaaved Jaaferi (AAP) - Lucknow, Sonia Gandhi (Congress) - Rae Bareli, Shri Prakash Jaiswal (Congress) - Kanpur, Murli Manohar Joshi (BJP) - Kanpur, Uma Bharti (BJP) - Jhansi, Chandrapal Singh Yadav(SP) - Jhansi, Kunwar Puspendra Singh (BJP) - Hamirpur, Bal Kumar Patel (SP) - Banda, P L Punia (Congress) - Barabanki
Andhra Pradesh (17/42)
Constituencies: Adilabad, Peddapalle, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Zahirabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Mahbubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda, Bhongir, Warangal, Mahabubabad, Khammam
Key candidates: Ramesh Rathod (TDP) - Adilabad, Godam Nagesh (TRS) -Adilabad, Balka Suman (TRS) - Peddapalle, C Vidya Sagar Rao (BJP) - Karimnagar, Ponnam Prabhakar (Congress) - Karimnagar, K Kavita (TRS) - Nizamabad, Suresh Shetkar (Congress) - Zahirabad, K Chandrashekar Rao (TRS) - Medak, Sarvey Sathyanarayana (Congress) - Malkajgiri, Ch Malla Reddy (TDP) - Malkajgiri, Anjan Kumar Yadav (Congress) - Secunderabad, Asaduddin Owasisi (AIMIM) - Hyderabad, S Jaipal Reddy (Congress) - Mahbubnagar, Bakkani Narsimulu (TDP) - Nagarkurnool, K Rajgopal Reddy (Congress) -Bhongir, P Srinivasa Reddy (YSR Congress) - Khammam
Bihar (7/40)
Constituencies: Madhubani, Jhanjharpur, Madhepura, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagariya
Key candidates: Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav (BJP) - Madubani, Abdul Bari Siddiqui (RJD) - Madubani, Pappu Yadav (RJD) - Madhepura, Sharad Yadav (JD(U)) - Madhepura, Kirti Azad(BJP) - Darbhanga, Ram Chandra Paswan(LJP) - Samastipur, Krishan Kumari Yadav (RJD) - Khagaria, Rajendra Prasad Singh (CPI) - Begusarai, Bhola Singh (BJP) -Begusarai
Jammu and Kashmir (1/6)
Constituency: Srinagar
Key candidates: Farooq Abdullah (JKNC) - Srinagar, Tariq Hameed Karra (JKPDP) - Srinagar
West Bengal(9/42)
Constituencies: Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly, Arambag, Bardhaman Purba, Durgapur, Bolpur, Birbhum
Key candidates: Parsun Benerjee (TMC) - Howrah, Sridip Bhattacharya (CPI(M)) -Howrah, Bappi Lahiri (BJP) - Srerampur, Pradip Saha (CPI(M)) -Hooghly, Aparupa Poddar (TMC) - Arambagh, Santosh Roy (BJP) - Bardhaman Purba, Sunil Kumar Mondal (TMC) - Bardhaman Puraba, Mumtaz Sanghamita (TMC) - Durgapur, Anupan Hazra (TMC) - Bolpur, Siraj Syed (Congress)- Birbhum, Dr Kamre Elahi Muhammad(CPI(M)) - Birbhum
Dadar & Nagar Haveli (1/1)
Constituency: Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Key candidates: Chhutubhai Patel (AAP), Nathubhai Patel (BJP), Delkar Mohanbhai (Congress)
Daman & Diu (1/1)
Constituency: Daman & Diu.
Key candidates: Lalubhai Babubhai Patel (BJP), Ketan Patel (Congress)
With inputs from Sidanth Giri
