A controversy has arisen after a video surfaced online allegedly showing a minor boy casting a vote during the Lok Sabha elections in Berasia, Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal.
The District Collector, Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, has initiated an investigation into the matter and assured that action will be taken against those involved.
The video depicts a minor boy, purportedly the son of Vinay Mehar, a BJP panchayat leader, accompanied by his father into the polling booth during voting. In the video, the boy is seen pressing a button on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) while Mehar captures the act.
Questions have been raised regarding the presence of a mobile phone in the polling booth and the allowance of the child to accompany his father during the voting process.
"BJP has turned the Election Commission into a child's plaything. In Bhopal, the BJP's district panchayat member Vinay Mehar got his minor son to cast his vote. Vinay Mehar also made a video of the time when he cast his vote. Vinay Mehar posted the video on Facebook," stated Piyush Babele, media advisor to former Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
The Election Commission has yet to respond to the video, although district officials have acknowledged its existence. District Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh has taken swift action by ordering an investigation and suspending Presiding Officer Sandeep Saini. Additionally, a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against the BJP leader.
The incident occurred in the Berasia Assembly segment, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates and forms part of the Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency. The Lok Sabha seat is currently held by the BJP's Pragya Thakur, who defeated the Congress' Digvijaya Singh in the previous election. However, Thakur will not be contesting in this election, as the BJP has nominated Alok Sharma to compete against the Congress' Arun Shrivastava.