Illegal voting held at TN village to contest civic body polls

Elders of the Kalari village here made a novel suggestion to prepare ballot papers with the names of the four contestants and elect one person to be sent as a candidate during the forthcoming local body elections. This was because, if four people from Sumaithangi village contested, then the person from the village would lose the chance of winning the president ship of the Kalari panchayat.

Ramanathapuram: A ballot box with 134 ballot papers were seized by revenue and police official from Sumaithangi village on Wednesday, where illegal voting was being held to select a candidate for contesting in the local body elections in Kalari village.

Officials said that the village leaders wanted to send one person to contest the presidentship of Kilari panchayat from their village.

"But four people had expressed their desire to contest for the post from the village," they said.

They said that if four people from Sumaithangi village contested, then the person from the village would lose the chance of winning the presidentship of the Kalari panchayat, which is the mother village of Sumaithangi village.

The village elders made a novel suggestion to prepare ballot papers with the names of the four contestants willing to contest, and elect one person to be sent as a candidate during the forthcoming local body elections.

They had printed 465 ballot papers (number of voters in the village) and held the illegal election.

On a tip-off, the revenue officials, including block development officer Ramesh Kumar and Tahsildar Veeraraj, rushed to the spot and seized the ballot box (a sealed mud pot)and ballot papers since such an election goes against the state election commission rules and people's representative rules.

The Kalari panchayat comes under SC (General) category village.

"While Kalari is the mother village of the panchayat, the villages attached to it included Sumaithangi, Anakudi, Mela Sippai," the officials said.

The officials further informed that the election was held illegally and they would take action against those responsible for it.