In draw-matic turn, removed Jakhal block leaders re-dealt a lucky hand

The Jakhal Block Samiti elections in Fatehabad district took a dramatic turn when the once-removed President and Vice-President were re-elected to their positions through a lottery draw on Monday. They were removed through a no-confidence motion.

Jagtar Singh and Meenu Kamboj were removed from their posts of samiti President and Vice-President on June 3 after seven members submitted a no-confidence proposal before the ADC of Fatehabad.

The proposal was passed, and their positions were declared vacant. The re-election was scheduled for June 16, but was postponed due to lack of quorum. Only five out of 10 samiti members were present at the meeting that day. The administration then rescheduled the election for June 24.

On Monday, at the Block Development and Panchayat Office (BDPO), elections were held again. For the samiti President’s post, Sukhtinder from Ward 3 and former samiti President Jagtar Singh filed nominations. Both received five votes each. Similarly, for the samiti Vice-President’s post, Sarbjit Kaur and former samiti Vice-President Meenu Kamboj got five votes each.

With the votes tied, all candidates agreed to decide the result through a draw. The draw favoured the former leaders, and Jagtar Singh was re-elected as samiti President while Meenu Kamboj became the samiti Vice-President again. The meeting was presided over by District Development and Panchayat Officer Anoop Kumar.

Heavy police arrangement was made for the election. Station in-charge Kuldeep Singh said three police teams were deployed, and the election was completed peacefully under tight security at the Block Development and Panchayat Office.

The losing candidates, Sukhtinder Singh and Sarbjit Kaur, made serious allegations after the result. They claimed that two of the members backing them were bribed with lakhs of rupees and were forced to vote under pressure. They claimed that they had evidence in this regard and would present it to higher authorities soon.