RAMANATHAPURAM: Revenue and police officials on Wednesday seized a ballot box from Sumaithangi village where illegal voting was held to select a candidate to contest for the post of Kalari panchayat president.
Four persons from Sumaithangi had expressed desire to contest for the post.
The villages of Sumaithangi, Anakudi, and Mela Sippai are attached to Kalari panchayat, the president post of which is reserved for SC (General) category.
When the local body elections were announced, four persons from Sumaithangi village expressed their desire to contest for the post of Kalari panchayat president.
However, it was felt that if the four were allowed to contest for the post, Kalari villagers might lose their chance to win. As such, villages elders decided to elect one person from among the four as a candidate from Sumaithangi village.
Accordingly, an illegal election was held at the village on Wednesday, with 465 ballot papers printed based on the number of voters in Sumaithangi village. Based on a tip-off, revenue officials, including Block Development Officer (BDO) Ramesh Kumar and Tehsildar Veeraraj, rushed to the spot and seized the ballot box (a sealed mud pot), with 134 ballot papers inside, sources said.