TIRUCHY: Tension prevailed in Valaiyur village of Manachanallur union on Monday as officials conducted local body polls under tight police cover. The village came into the spotlight after police booked a bribery case over the auctioning of panchayat posts. Following this, a section of voters also threatened to boycott the elections unless the process was taken over by officials.
While no incident of violence or boycott was reported on polling day, there was a sense of unease among Valaiyur residents as four sub-inspectors were deployed to conduct elections at a polling station consisting of 1,700 voters.
“Several police officers and political functionaries visited the village in the last few days to keep the situation under control. With chances being very high of the elections being cancelled due to a proposed boycott by more than 200 voters, there is a feeling of uncertainty among candidates,” said Sakthi, a functionary of a party functionary from the village.
A section of Dalit voters in Ward 6 of the village threatened to boycott the election after three panchayat posts, including those of panchayat union councillor, village panchayat president and village panchayat vice-president, were auctioned for a reported sum of Rs 26.92 lakh. Even as police have lodged a case and are conducting investigations, these voters were unhappy as the elections were being conducted with no opposition.
“Except for our ward, all other wards are going unopposed in the village. While there are two candidates for the president’s post, both them belong to the same party and the person who gave the money is surely going to win,” said an enraged voter.