After cash haul, EC to take call on Vellore poll

CHENNAI: The Election Commission will take a decision on Tuesday on holding elections in the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu on April 18.

This follows a report from the Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer Subhabrata Sahoo on the seizure of Rs 10 lakh on March 31 from the residence of DMK treasurer S Duraimurugan at Katpadi in the constituency, where his son, Kathir Anand, is one of the candidates.

Sahoo’s report to the poll panel also details the seizure by the income tax department officials of Rs 10crore from the godown of a DMK functionary, also at Katpadi, the next day, according to official sources.

If the EC decides to cancel the election, it will have to send a recommendation to the President.

Duraimurugan has slammed the IT raids as vendetta by the Centre and Tamil Nadu governments and said nothing incriminating has been found.

In 2016, the Election Commission recommended cancellation of polls in the Aravakurichi and Thanjavur assembly seats as voters were being bribed. The poll panel, in a statement, cited instances of money seizures in the two constituencies and various judicial observations. Polls would be held “after a reasonable amount of time”, it said.