Elections to the Vellore Parliamentary constituency, cancelled in April following charges of an attempt to bribe voters on a large scale, will be held on August 5.
Announcing this, the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday said that the counting of votes will take place on August 9.
As per the schedule put out by the EC, nominations can be filed from July 11, the date on which the gazette notification will be issued.
The last date for filing nominations will be July 18, while scrutiny of nomations will take place the next day. Withdrawal of nominations can take place till July 22.
The Election Commission was silent on byelections to the Assembly constituencies of Vikravandi and Nanguneri.
While the Vikravandi seat fell vacant following the death of DMK legislator K. Rathamani, Congress MLA H. Vasanthakumar resigned from the Nanguneri seat after his election to the Lok Sabha from Kanniyakumari.
The cancellation of the poll process in Vellore took place following the Election Commission’s “detection of a systematic design to influence voters” in the constituency. Invoking provisions of the Income Tax Act, the authorities conducted search and seizure operations, initially at the residence of Durai Murugan, DMK treasurer and father of Kathir Anand, who was the party candidate, and at Kingston Medical College, run by the Durai Murugan Educational Trust. Subsequently, the operations spread to the residence of Damodaran, brother-in-law of Srinivasan, a DMK functionary. The operations were conducted on March 29-30 and April 1.
When the poll process was rescinded, the EC’s press note, issued on April 16, said Mr. Srinivasan had claimed ownership of ₹.11.48 crore in cash, seized on April 1. He had disclosed, in his statement made to the authorities, that the amount was “meant to influence voters in favour of DMK’s candidate”, the note pointed out.
On April 18, the remaining 38 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State went to polls. The DMK-led front scored a thumping victory in the elections, bagging 37 seats, while the AIADMK-led combine could manage just one.
As far as candidates of the two principal formations for the August 5 poll are concerned, their original nominees — Mr. Kathir Anand of the DMK and A.C. Shanmugam of the New Justice Party — are expected to be retained.