Independent candidate demands cancellation of Erode East by-poll

CHENNAI: An independent candidate on Monday petitioned Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu Satyabrata Sahoo, requesting to cancel the Erode East Constituency by-poll for approving the nomination of one of the candidates in the fray without following due process.

The petitioner said one of the candidates nomination has been accepted and given symbol without following the due process and stated it was a glaring mistake on the part of the authorities and demanded to countermand the February 27 by-poll.

“Apart from various problems such as giving money and food to the voters, I noticed a glaring mistake in respect of a candidate, Kumaraswamy (serial no 11). The candidate is giving Green Chilly symbol and belongs to Janata Dal (S) party,” said Agni Sriramachandran, the petitioner and an independent candidate in the fray for February 27 bypoll.

He continued that Kumaraswamy does not belong to Jana Dal (S) party and the party has not given Form A and B, which was mandatory to use as party name. “Under this circumstance, I request good office to countermand the election proceedings of Erode East constituency Assembly bypoll and conduct a fresh election,” he further said.