CHENNAI: The nominations of key leaders of all political parties, including Chief Minister M K Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, NTK chief coordinator Seeman and TVK president Vijay (in Perambur and Tiruchy East) have been accepted as valid after scrutiny by election officials.
According to data available on the ECI portal, till 12.10 am on Wednesday, of the 7,599 nominations received, over 4,994 have been accepted as valid, around 2,458 rejected, and 11 have withdrawn their nominations. The status of 136 nominations is yet to be updated.
The nominations of BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran, Union Minister L Murugan, former BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan, DMDK general secretary Premallatha Vijayakant and BJP women’s wing chairperson Vanathi Srinivasan, have all been accepted as valid.
In Chennai, AIADMK functionaries demanded that the nomination of Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin should not be accepted, citing various reasons. However, elections officials accepted his papers. Similarly, officials initially stopped scrutiny of papers filed by TVK functionary Aadhav Arjuna, but his nomination was later accepted. In Perambur, the AIADMK and DMK opposed the acceptance of Vijay’s nomination.
The nominations of candidates contesting the Kallakurichi Assembly constituency from the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi were rejected due to a delay in submitting the Form A-B. In Gobichettipalayam, the acceptance of K A Sengottaiyan’s nomination was delayed after the AIADMK raised objections regarding the affidavit he had filed.
NTK functionaries said the nominations of all 234 party candidates have been accepted as valid.
In the Edappadi constituency, the nomination papers of the TVK candidates, M Arunkumar and A Nithya, have been rejected. In the Tenkasi seat, the nominations of Rocket Raja and Hari Nadar, who filed his papers from inside jail, have been rejected.
In Chennai, the nomination of TVK general secretary N Anand has been accepted. In Jolarpettai, AIADMK functionaries allegedly assaulted a person who opposed the nomination of former minister K C Veeramani, citing some shortcomings in his papers.
Meanwhile, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, in an official release, said that the cash and goods seized by ECI officials from surveillance teams and enforcement agencies have risen to Rs 462.74 crore. Of this, precious metals account for Rs 214.38 crore, cash Rs 92.07 crore, drugs/narcotics Rs 75.76 crore, freebies and other items Rs 78.49 crore.
However, the CEO said that following the submission of valid documents, Rs 278 crore in money and other items have been returned to the owners. She said elections officials ensured that no harassment is caused to the public. She also said that further examination of the remaining seizures by the respective agencies is under way.
Campaigning at Puducherry comes to close; 294 candidates in fray for 30 constituencies
Puducherry: Campaigning for the Assembly election in the Union Territory of Puducherry ended at 6 pm on Tuesday across all 30 constituencies, with polling scheduled from 7 am to 6 pm on April 9. The election schedule was announced on March 15, with nominations filed between March 16 and 23 and withdrawals completed by March 26.
A total of 294 candidates are in the fray. According to officials, the electorate stands at 9.5 lakh voters, including 5.03 lakh women and 4.4 lakh men. Counting of votes will take place on May 4. District Election Officer A Kulothungan said voter awareness drives were conducted to boost turnout and expressed hope of strong participation. Paid leave has been declared for voters working in neighbouring States. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 are now in force, and campaign personnel from outside have been asked to leave.