Video of BJP leader's minor son casting vote in Bhopal goes viral; Congress says 'turning EC into a child's plaything'

livemint.com:

Lok Sabha elections 2024: A video of the BJP leader's minor son casting a vote at the Berasia polling booth in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal went viral on social media on Thursday. Soon after, the Congress slammed the saffron party, saying it had reduced the Election Commission (EC) of India into a child's plaything. In the viral video, a boy, reportedly BJP panchayat leader Vinay Mehar's son, was seen casting a vote on the EVM on behalf of his father.

The BJP leader was accompanying the boy. The 14-second video, reportedly shared on Mehar's Facebook page, was flagged by the media advisor of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath. The BJP leader and his son were seen in the polling booth, pressing the 'lotus' button on the EVM to cast a vote for the BJP.

The video then pans to show the vote being registered by the VVPAT, or Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail machine, after which Mehar is heard saying, "Okay. That is enough now." Although the child was casting the vote on behalf of his father, two major questions arise: How was a phone allowed inside a polling booth and who allowed the child to accompany his father to the booth? Piyush Babele, whose X handle describes him as a media advisor in the office of Kamal Nath, shared the video online asking, "Will there be any action?" "BJP has turned the Election Commission into a child's plaything. In Bhopal, the BJP's district panchayat member Vinay Mehar got his minor son to cast his vote.

Vinay Mehar also made a video of the time when he cast his vote. Vinay Mehar posted the video on Facebook," his post read. Although the Election Commission did not respond to the video, it was acknowledged by the district officials.