Tamil Nadu bypoll likely to be countermanded

After Income-Tax (I-T) officials recovered documents revealing the distribution of Rs 89 crore to voters in the RK Nagar constituency during a search at the premises of Tamil Nadu Health Minister Dr C Vijayabaskar, the Election Commission (EC), sources said, is likely to countermand the April 12 by-poll to the constituency. It was represented by late chief minister J Jayalalithaa. Raids were conducted across 35 locations in the state.

A senior I-T department official told DNA that the documents were recovered from the MLA hostel, Egmore Lodge and the minister’s official residence at Greenways Road.

With the high-voltage campaign for the high-profile seat set to end by Monday evening, Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha held a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni and the EC’s Director (Expenditure) Vikram Batra, who was appointed as special CEO, in New Delhi.

Speculations were rife that the by-election might be countermanded following the seizure of documents. Sources said that a formal announcement on the RK Nagar by-poll will likely be made on Monday after the meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Nazim Zaidi.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, polling in two constituencies — Thanjavur And Aravakurichi — were countermanded after both AIADMK and DMK were found bribing voters.

DMK Working President MK Stalin has sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the money distribution in RK Nagar and appealed to voters to ensure the victory of its candidate Marthuganesh to send out a strong message against corruption.

DMK’s ally Congress wants the EC to not cancel the by-poll. The BJP and the CPI (M) had accused the OPS and Sasikala factions of AIADMK and the DMK of distributing money to voters and sought the countermanding of polls.

Meanwhile, a clash broke out between supporters of the O Panneerselvam and Sasikala factions in RK Nagar on Sunday and one person was injured. E Madhusudhanan from the OPS camp of the AIADMK camp is contesting against TTV Dinakaran of the Sasikala Natarajan camp. Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar is also fighting the by-poll.

On Sunday, the I-T department summoned Vijayabaskar, actor-turned-politician R Sarathkumar and Dr MGR Medical University Vice-Chancellor Dr Geethalakshmi to appear for an inquiry on Monday. Vijayabaskar’s father Chinnathambi appeared before I-T authorities in Tiruchirapalli on Saturday after the raid at minister’s native town Pudukottai.