The Press Club Hyderabad elections, which always end peacefully went through quite a ruckus this year. Returning officers Hemasunder Rao and Rangacharya lodged a complaint with the police against Sooraj Bhardwaj for threatening them, snatching papers, and pouring water in ballot boxes after they lost the elections by a margin of 80 votes. They urged the authorities to take necessary legal action.
Returning officers explained in the complaint that for years the Press Club had conducted the elections honestly and peacefully without any shortcomings on several occasions. But, Suraj Bhardwaj, who is contesting for the presidency this time, was unable to handle the defeat and created quite a mess at the venue. They asserted that respecting Suraj Bharadwaj’s request, the votes were re-counted twice, where eventually the result of losing the elections by 80 votes was the same. They added that Suraj even gave silly reasons like the improper placement of the Swastik symbol, and fake votes behind losing the elections.
Returning officers explained to the police that Suraj, who had snatched the election papers, had forcibly detained them. He also complained that the election manifesto had been signed to be withheld. He asked for an immediate inquiry into the matter and action to be taken.
Hemasunder Rao and Rangacharya submitted the video recordings along with the CCTV footage to the police officers.