Mungaoli bypoll: BJP MLA booked for violating model code of conduct

A BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh was on Friday booked for allegedly violating the model code of conduct in force for Mungaoli Assembly bypoll scheduled on Saturday.

Shailendra Jain, MLA from adjoining Sagar district, was allegedly campaigning in Mungaoli, where canvassing formally ended at 5 pm on Thursday, in his SUV. The model code of conduct prohibits call for votes after a campaigning phase ends.

Jain (55) and his driver Rakeeb Khan (26) were booked under IPC Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), Mungaoli Police Station Inspector Kushlal Singh Badhoria said.

He said police got information that the MLA was campaigning in Mungaoli. "We went there and asked him and his driver to leave the district. They then went to Piprai Road, some 14-km from Mungaoli headquarters, and started electioneering there also," Badhoria said.

"We intercepted and booked them," Singh said, adding the SUV has been impounded. When asked as to why the BJP MLA and his driver were not arrested, Ashoknagar Superintendent of Police Tilak Singh said they acted according to the law.

"We served notices to Jain and his driver under the IPC Section 188, asking them to appear in a local court on February 26, the date when they would be chargesheeted," he said.

Besides Mungaoli, another Assembly constituency, Kolaras in Shivpuri district, is also facing by-election on Saturday.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has campaigned heavily for the BJP in the past few weeks, while Jyotiraditya Scindia has done so for the Congress. The polls are significant for both the parties as they come months before the Assembly elections. The bypolls will help both parties gauge the mood of the voters in the State.