Nine persons including a BJP leader were arrested for allegedly distributing money to voters in Kalahandi district. Nine persons including a BJP leader were arrested for allegedly distributing money to voters in Kalahandi district.

The police on Tuesday arrested nine persons including a BJP leader from Chhattishgarh for allegedly distributing money to voters in Kalahandi district. Police identified the arrested BJP leader as Lokesh Kawadia, the Chhattishgarh BJP NGO Cell Secretary. Eight others associates of Kawadia were also detained by police on Monday and booked on Tuesday.

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Police said they have seized Rs 2.11 lakh in cash and four vehicles from Kawadia and his associates possession. The nine BJP activists from Chhattishgarh were campaigning for the party leaders at Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district for the ongoing three-tier panchayat election. The last phase of the panchayat election is being held on Tuesday. The BJP’s Odisha unit president Basant Panda, however, denied allegation that the party leader from Chhattishgarh was attempting to distribute money to the voters.

“There is no bar on campaigning by leaders from other states. We do not believe in cash for vote,” Panda said. Similar allegation were also made against the ruling BJD when the police rescued BJD leader Sarada Prasad Nayak and his associates from captivity of villagers in Sundergarh district yesterday. The villagers of Jharipani gram panchayat detained Nayak and his men alleging that he was distributing various items including umbrella with BJD’s poll symbol to woo voters in the last phase of panchayat polls. The police seized cash of Rs 8,000 from them.

“The police rescued Nayak and his five supporters,” a police officer said. This is the second time in less than a week that Nayak has been in news on charge of wooing voters through illegal means. On February 15, a complaint was lodged against him at Jharipani police station in Sundergarh district for allegedly distributing money to the voters of Panchayat election.

Meanwhile, the BJP workers from Cuttack on Tuesday gheraoed the State Police Headquarters protesting the alleged police “failure” to curb violence by BJD during the panchayat polls. A minor scuffle ensured during the protest led by former minister and senior BJP leader Samir Dey, sources said adding that several BJP leaders and activists were arrested in connection with his incident.

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