SALEM: Tension prevailed at the returning officer’s office at the Edappadi taluk office on Tuesday during the scrutiny of nominations after TVK candidate M Arunkumar went missing. Party cadres said Arunkumar, the official candidate, was present at the returning officer’s office in the morning, but later went missing and remained unreachable even during the scrutiny process. His absence led to anxious scenes outside the office.
Arunkumar’s nomination and the party’s substitute candidate’s nomination was also rejected, leaving TVK without a valid candidate in Edappadi constituency, the home turf of opposition leader EPS.
Explaining the reason, Returning Officer P Natarajan said, “Candidates from unrecognised parties must have 10 proposers. In this case, the TVK candidate had only seven proposers, which led to the rejection. The substitute candidate’s nomination was also rejected for the same reason.”
Meanwhile, the scrutiny of DMK candidate C Kasi’s nomination was briefly halted due to an issue in the affidavit, specifically regarding the signature in the personal details section. The issue was later resolved and the nomination was accepted.