Amid reports alleging that voters were bribed in Madurai West constituency, the Election Commission is considering countermanding the poll there after assessing the evidence procured by its field officials and the report of district returning officer U. Sahayam, who is also the Madurai collector under fire from the ruling DMK for being strict.
On the eve of the April 13 elections, flying squad officials of Madurai West are said to have recovered a notebook containing details of money distribution from a DMK functionary’s vehicle during a check, which detailed the alleged distribution of money that took place in the constituency. Based on the seized documents, the officials have come to the conclusion that `60 lakhs could have been distributed to the voters of a few segments in the constituency. The seized book contained details of money distributed in each segment of the constituency and even had a noting regarding the money earlier seized by the EC flying squads.
On Saturday morning, state chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar held discussions with his officials at his chamber, when the Madurai West issue also came up. It was decided to wait for a detailed report from Mr Sahayam, which is likely to arrive before Monday. The election squad officers reportedly captured the vehicle-check and the seizures on their video cameras. Though the DMK cadres had denied distributing money to the voters, the EC might view the Madurai West incident seriously and even choose to countermand the election for setting a stringent precedent to discourage corrupt practices in polls, informed sources said. The EC squads operating across TN had seized money and gifts worth over `60 crores.