No nominations filed in Vellore on first day, parties wait and watch

AIADMK sources revealed that nominations would be filed from Monday onwards with the exception of Tuesday which was considered inauspicious. In the Vellore Corporation office, officials designated to collect nominations were sitting idle waiting for applicants on Friday.

Another reason for the delay in this process was that the Dravidian majors were yet to release their candidates list. “As they are the main players, other parties will want to wait and see who the candidates are and their strength before opting to file nominations,” a senior party functionary said.

While the DMK candidates are upbeat due to their being the ruling party with both financial and political clout, it is the reverse in the AIADMK camp. Issues cropped up even during candidates interviews when many claimed willingness to spend upward of Rs 50 lakh, though functionaries knew otherwise.

“We are waiting for the party high command to instruct us as we know that in Katpadi panchayat union at least three party candidates gave in to the DMK candidates as they were convinced they could not win. We do not want a repeat of this scenario,” a district level party official said.