Malpractices, Irregularities Lead to Fresh Polls in 13 Booths in Tamil Nadu on May 19

Chennai: Fresh polls will be conducted across 13 booths in Tamil Nadu on May 19 along with four more by polls after the Tamil Nadu Election Commission sent reports about errors in the booths during the polling held on April 18.

“Out of the 46 polling booths which were reported to have been involved in malpractices and were to go for a re-election, only 3 of them have been approved to further have re-election. In the rest of the cases referred to the Election Commission of India, as per its orders, counting will be done by counting VVPATvote slips” said Satyabarata Sahoo, Chief Election Officer of Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu Election Commission got information about malpractices and irregularities in 46 booths across the state and had sent a detailed report to ECI on April 29.

Eight booths in Dharmapuri district are scheduled to have re-elections on May 19. Sahoo said: “In Dharmapuri, party agents entered the booth thereby reducing the credibility of the elections”. Dharmapuri is also a PMK stronghold and Anbumani Ramadoss is the candidate of this constituency. The DMK candidate had accused the PMK for malpractices in 10 booths during the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls.

Sahoo explained the reason behind the re-election at Theni and Erode polling booths.

“In Erode, the mock poll with 50 votes poll were not cleared before the commencement of the poll. In Theni, there was malpractice in VVPAT. Similarly, in Periyakulam booth, booth no 197, voting machine was replaced without intimation,” said Sahoo.

EC recorded that in a polling booth in Cuddalore district, the EVM machine was faulty and a few buttons were not functional.

The DMK, however, sought clarification from the Election Commission of India on why 20 VVPATs and 50 ballot units were shifted from Coimbatore to Erode and Theni as this was against the guidelines laid by the ECI.

When asked about the shifting of the EVMs, Sahoo said: “After elections, the machines were sent back to the godown and hence there is a shortage. So we had to transfer EVMs.”

2019 Lok Sabha Polls is crucial for both the AIADMK and the DMK as it is not just about the Lok Sabha results but also the result of the 22 by polls. For the AIADMK to remain in power, it should win at least five of the 22 and the DMK is hoping to sweep all 22 to stake claim to form the Government.