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Edappadi tense as DMK protests delay in results
DMK workers started agitating on Thursday alleging that results were being withheld in Salem, where the party candidates have won the rural local body polls.
By
migrator
migrator
Coimbatore
At several counting centres in Salem, the native district of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, there was a delay in announcing the results even several hours after the start of counting process. This raised suspicion among DMK workers that the ruling party is trying to tamper with the results. They also started quarrelling with election officials over the delay.
A group of DMK workers led by Member of Parliament SR Parthiban, party’s district secretaries SR Sivalingam and Veerapandi A Raja sat in protest at the District Collector office premises. “Results were being delayed purportedly as Chief Minister hails from Salem district. The ruling party members are threatening the election officials and are influencing them in declaring the results,” they rued.
Similarly, Salem North MLA R Rajendran staged a protest in front of the Collector office along with party workers. He threatened to launch a massive protest ifthe names of DMK candidateswho won the polls are not declared in the district.
Speaking to reporters Parthiban said that the ruling party is conspiring to declare its candidates tohave won the polls by hiding the original results.
“They have planned to declare AIADMK candidates as winners at late in the night. DMK will organise a massive protest,” he said.
A total of 13,923 candidates competed for 4,299 posts in the rural local body polls in Salem district. Of them, 403 persons were chosen unanimously, while elections were held for the remaining 3,896 posts. Following voting in the first and second phase, the counting process commenced in 20 centres across the district from 8 am.
SEC moves SC for stay on HC order over submission of CCTV footage
The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission has challenged in the Supreme Court an order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court asking the poll body to file before it a copy of the CCTV footage monitoring the counting centers in the local body elections. A writ petition challenging the High Court order was filed in the apex court on Thursday on the ground that the HC order was wrong, had no basis and had intruded into the powers of the State Election Commission. Seeking a stay on the HC order, the SEC petition said any aggrieved person could approach courts for remedy once the counting process was over. The Madurai Bench of the High Court had passed the orders on Thursday afternoon on the plea of some advocates that there was scope for malpractices during the counting process and the election authorities should handover copies of the video footage to the Registrar.
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