Political tension escalated significantly in the Ramgarh Municipal Corporation area of Alwar district ahead of the local body election vote count. High-voltage drama unfolded outside Dhawala Resort in Akbarpur when police teams from Akbarpur and Ramgarh stations reached the resort where Congress had camped its candidates. The police officers insisted on taking Ward 10 independent candidate Yogesh Mishra with them, claiming they had received an official kidnapping complaint regarding him. However, the independent candidate directly refuted the abduction claims in front of the police force, stating that he was staying at the Congress resort entirely of his own free will. Despite his clear refusal, police officers continued their efforts to haul him away, leading to heated arguments and physical tussles between police personnel and Congress workers outside the resort premises.
Hour-Long Tug-of-War Outside Dhawala Resort
Chaos prevailed outside Dhawala Resort for nearly an hour as police attempted to move independent candidate Yogesh Mishra into their custody. Congress leaders and party workers present at the spot fiercely resisted the police move, resulting in intense verbal exchanges and physical friction between both sides. Scenes at the spot turned chaotic as police personnel pulled Mishra towards their vehicle while Congress workers pulled him back towards the resort. After nearly an hour of continuous standoff and heavy resistance from Congress supporters, the police force was compelled to leave without taking the candidate. Mishra repeatedly declared before the police officers that he was under no duress and intended to remain in the resort camp, raising serious questions about the administrative push to remove him.
Congress Accuses State Government of Administrative Highhandedness
Following the incident, senior Congress leader Tika Ram Jully launched a scathing attack on the state government and the local administration. Criticizing the police action, he accused the ruling government of misusing police and administrative machinery to enforce an authoritarian approach. He remarked that such repressive political tactics have never been part of Rajasthan's traditions. Tika Ram Jully alleged that police personnel also engaged in aggressive actions when attempting to pick up a female candidate in Alwar. He added that similar reports of police pressure on local body candidates were emerging from Karauli and other regions across the state. Furthermore, he accused the ruling party of attempting to manipulate local elections, alleging irregularities during voting and bringing up the issue of EVMs operating without VVPAT units, asserting that highhanded tactics would not be tolerated.
Former Candidate Questions Administrative Pressure on Independents
Aryan Zubair Khan, former Congress assembly candidate from Ramgarh, also raised stern questions over the conduct of the police and district administration. He alleged that the local administration was acting under direct instructions from the state government to put pressure on independent candidates. According to Khan, the administrative machinery is being leveraged to help the ruling party form municipal boards by any means necessary. He emphasized that if an independent councillor chooses to stay with Congress of their own volition, forcing entry into a resort to carry them away is completely illegal and unconstitutional. He maintained that all candidates present in the resort camp were staying voluntarily without any coercion, making the police intervention a clear attempt at political intimidation.
Pattern of Resort Controversies From Tunga to Alwar
This incident in Alwar marks the second major standoff involving candidate camps during these municipal elections. On Friday, a similar confrontation occurred at a resort in the Tunga area of Jaipur district, where forest department officials, police officers, and individuals linked to the ruling party entered a Congress candidate camp. During that incident, an independent candidate was reportedly taken from the Tunga resort and brought to Alwar. The subsequent police intervention at Akbarpur's Dhawala Resort has further intensified the political confrontation in Rajasthan, underscoring the crucial role independent candidates hold in deciding which party controls the local municipal bodies.
Decisive Role of Independents Ahead of September 14 Counting
The counting of votes for the Rajasthan municipal elections is scheduled for September 14. As the counting date approaches, both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are leaving no stone unturned to secure the required numbers to form municipal boards across the state. Independent candidates have emerged as the deciding factor in achieving majority figures in municipal councils and corporations. Consequently, both major parties are actively resorting to candidate camps to keep their supporters intact. The political wrestling over independent candidates is expected to intensify further until the official election results are declared.
