Invalidate postal votes in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur: DMK

In his letter to chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi and state chief electoral officer Rajesh Lakhoni, DMK Rajya Sabha member and party organising secretary R S Bharathi, said government servants and police personnel drafted for election duty should not be allowed to be posted in the same constituencies where they have been serving. 

“While no such local staff or police personnel were engaged in Tiruparankundram where the question of post ballot does not arise, local staff of state government and policemen were engaged in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur,” the DMK petition said, urging the commission to immediately instruct the district electoral officers and returning officers of Aravakurichi and Thanjavur constituencies to withdraw the deputation of government staffs and police personnel, who belong to the same constituency and depute officials from other districts. He requested the EC to invalidate the postal votes given to such officials in Aravakurichi constituency, where one round of casting postal votes took place on November 11 and two more spells have been scheduled for November 15 and 16 and at Thanjavur, where the polling of postal votes would take place on November 15.