The surprise result of the assembly election in Maharashtra, in the small village of Markadwadi located in the Malshiras taluka of Solapur district, where, unlike in previous elections, the BJP candidate received more votes than the NCP candidate, bewildered the villagers, who passed a resolution to hold a mock paper ballot election.
The villagers have usually voted consistently for Uttamrao Jankar, irrespective of his party affiliation. When Jankar did not contest, they supported candidates he endorsed. However, the assembly election results announced on November 23 raised suspicions among the villagers and prompted them to question the accuracy of the vote count.
The village, which has 2,046 registered voters, saw a turnout of 1,905 voters during the polls. Official data revealed that 843 votes were cast in favour of Jankar, representing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP – Sharad Chandra Pawar faction).
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Ram Satpute, secured 1,003 votes from the village. This outcome surprised the villagers, given that Jankar ultimately won the assembly seat with a comfortable margin of over 13,000 votes. They believe the result from Markadwadi does not align with past voting patterns or the expected trends.
In the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, the NCP candidate Dhairyasheel Mohite had received 1,021 votes from Markadwadi, while the BJP candidate, who lost the parliamentary polls, secured only 466 votes. The stark contrast between these figures and the assembly election results led villagers to suspect irregularities in the counting process.
To address these concerns, the villagers passed a resolution to conduct a mock paper ballot election in the village, aiming to restore confidence in the electoral process. They approached the local administration for permission to hold the exercise and establish a polling booth, emphasising their intent to complement, rather than challenge, the formal electoral system.
However, their request was denied by the authorities, citing a lack of provisions under electoral rules.
The state authorities responded by imposing Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, restricting activities in the village. A heavy police presence was deployed, and the mock election was stalled. Despite these developments, Jankar visited the village to express support for the villagers, stating that their demand for a re-polling exercise posed no constitutional challenge.
The BJP emerged as the dominant force, winning 133 seats, while the Mahayuti alliance collectively secured 235 seats. Opposition parties, particularly the Mahavikas Aghadi front, have raised allegations of manipulation in the election process, pointing to discrepancies in voter lists and a sudden spike in voter turnout during the final hours of polling.
The Congress party has formally complained to the Election Commission, questioning the deletion and addition of voters in the lead-up to the election and the unexplained increase in voting percentages.