Purnea, May 25: Supporters of defeated mukhiya (village head) candidate Rehana Khatun from Maharajganj 1 blocked the Purnea- Saharsa road (National Highway 107) at Banmankhi Chowk of Banmankhi block in Purnea for more than five hours.

The blockade forced vehicles to come to a standstill for more than 3km on each flank of the highway and commuters had to suffer immense hardship. Several people were delayed on their way to work.

The sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Banmankhi, Manoj Kumar, and the deputy superintendent of police (DSP), P.K. Pravin, reached the spot and brought the situation under control. They assured that legal action would be taken in case any foul play is detected and their demand would be passed on to the state election commission.

Sources said the mob under the leadership of Rehana submitted a memorandum to the Banmankhi SDO and the DSP, demanding a recount of the panchayat polls of Maharajganj 1 after considering it to be a genuine demand.

To restore normality on the road, these officials assured Rehana that her demand would be seriously considered and the matter sent for legal intervention. Sources said the returning officer had acted in collusion with the winning candidate and declined to listen to the opposite party.

The returning officer took a decision and presented the certificate to Sulochana Devi who had trounced Rehana by eight votes.

Rehana and her supporters demanded the recounting of the panchayat polls that was done yesterday at Banmankhi block in which she was defeated by her nearest rival by eight votes.

Rehana allegedly said in spite of the demand of recounting, the returning officer gave certificate to her rival, Sulochana. If a candidate gets defeated by her nearest rival by a difference of nine or less votes, the defeated candidate could appeal for recounting, she added. In her case, she got 1,313 votes in the panchayat election, while her nearest rival, Sulochana, clinched 1,321 votes and got only eight more votes.

The district magistrate and collector N. Saravana Kumar told The Telegraph that the demonstrators had two options — either they could file election a suit in the court or they could approach the state election commission. Any person, who won the election even by the margin of one vote, was entitled to a winning certificate and one could pray for recounting soon after the announcement.