Is DMK poised for a clean sweep in Tamil Nadu urban local body elections?
Chennai: The gloomy prognosis on the outcome of the elections to the urban local bodies even before the counting of votes has not begun and the spate charges of irregularities levelled against the ruling party by opposition leaders, particularly from the AIADMK and BJP, point to a possible clean sweep by the DMK all over the State.
BJP State President K Annamalai told the media on Monday that the DMK indulged in large scale violence and even screened video clipping to prove his point. However, while tweeting the compilation of the videos, he tagged @ECISVEEP, the Twitter account of the Election Commission of India saying that he hoped that ECI would not close its eyes on counting day.
The ECI was quick to respond with documentary evidence that they do not have the mandate to hold the elections to the rural and urban local bodies and that it was done by the State Election Commission.
Screenshots of the ECI tweet that also had a ‘Do You Know’ clip on Article 324 attached to it went viral on social media with many people wondering how come a leader of a political party was not aware of such things.
But otherwise, Annamalai levelled serious charges against the government like a DMK supporter casting his vote twice. He said there was large-scale bogus voting, pointing out that the percent of voting had seen a steep hike in the last one hour that was actually dedicated for Covid-19 affected voters.
He said that many persons were injured in the violence unleashed by the DMK and that he had filed a complaint to the SEC, which had turned a blind eye to everything. In Ramanathapuram, the candidates were told that 9,790 votes had been polled but when the details were uploaded in the website it read as 11,143.
Similarly he also wanted action against the official responsible for the goof up on the vote of Union Minister of State L Murugan, who was first told that his vote had been cast. He was allowed to vote after the polling officials found that another voter by name Murugan had voted and that they had marked it against the name of the Minister.
Similarly AIADMK co-coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami also said that even if they win the elections results would be announced the other way and that the AIADMK would challenge the results in the court.
He also alleged that the law and order in the State had collapsed and that people did not come out to vote fearing rowdy elements, who were on the prowl in the streets.
These kinds of charges being leveled against the government ahead of the counting point to the opposition parties trying to pre-empt a possible defeat by coming out with reasons before the results are out.
