TIRUVANNAMALAI: The results of the indirect election to the chairperson of three panchayat unions Kalasapakkam, Pudupalayam and Polur were withheld by the authorities following complaints from AIADMK.
Chairperson posts were won by DMK in all these three civic bodies held on Saturday.
When the indirect election was held in Kalasapakkam, DMK’s R Anbarasi was declared winner in the race to the chairperson post. She secured 12 votes while her nearest rival Kumari of AIADMK got nine votes.
The returning officer declared the results and handed the certificate to Anbarasi, sources said.
However, AIADMK panchayat union ward members, led by Kumari’s husband and party’s panchayat union secretary Thirunavukkarasu, resorted to road blockade on the busy Vellore-Tiruvannamalai highway disrupting traffic for about an hour.
They alleged that DMK men made a ruckus in the council hall during voting and managed to secure one vote more than their actual strength.
“We have the support of 8 AIADMK ward members, two PMK members and two indpendents. One of them slipped to their side, the rest supported our candidate for the chairperson post,” Thirunavukkarasu said.
He added, “All of them had stated that they have written the name of Kumari to the chairperson post. However, two DMK men, including advocate Subramanian entered into the council hall and changed the outcome. The returning officer colluded with them.”
Later, all the 11 ward members belonging to AIADMK were paraded before the district election office and collector KS Kandasamy. They submitted a petition demanding cancellation of the indirect election to the chairperson post.
Following the issue, officials announced that the result of the indirect election in Kalasapakkam panchayat union was withheld.
Similarly, the results of the indirect election in Pudupalayam and Polur panchayat unions, where too DMK had won, were also withheld by the authorities.
Indirect election to Thandarampat and Thurinjapuram was postponed by authorities. Barring Kalasapakkam, Pudupalayam and Polur, DMK has won chairperson posts in seven panchayat unions while AIADMK won in four, Congress and PMK in one each.