TN elections: Drones, vehicles and more

The VCK, too, submitted an objection letter to the Election Officer in Vanur constituency in Villupuram, against the movement of unofficial persons at the counting centre there.
MNM chief Kamal Haasan after submitting a letter to Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo in Chennai on Tuesday | P Jawahar
MNM chief Kamal Haasan after submitting a letter to Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo in Chennai on Tuesday | P Jawahar

CHENNAI/THENI/TIRUCHY/VILLUPURAM/NAGAPATTINAM: Alleging security lapses at the locations of strong rooms, the MNM on Tuesday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to intervene and restore confidence among the public. Party chief Kamal Haasan met Chief Electoral Officer Satabrata Sahoo and submitted a petition mentioning various irregularities, including the alleged issue of multiple voting, entry of unauthorised outsiders and vehicles, and random dysfunctioning of CCTV cameras.

Talking to reporters, Haasan said, “Already 30 per cent voters don’t cast their votes. And, when such lapses happen there is a danger of more people withdrawing from the democratic process.” When asked if he was aware of such laxity in other counting centres, Haasan underscored that the guards must not be lowered because only a few centres have such lapses.

The VCK, too, submitted an objection letter to the Election Officer in Vanur constituency in Villupuram, against the movement of unofficial persons at the counting centre there. The party’s booth agent, S Valluvan, filed a complaint stating that a group of unidentified men had walked into the centre/strong room premises at Shri Aravindar Arts and Science College, Vanur, claiming to be computer operators. He added that they had not carried any proof for the claim.

Villupuram MP Ravikumar inspected the centre on Tuesday night after the issue was raised. “There are several breaches of security at strong rooms across the State and the ECI doesn’t seem to respond to the complaints. It is suspicious and undemocratic on the ECI’s part and VCK condemns the move,” Ravikumar said.

Drone over counting centre
A drone fitted with a camera allegedly flew over the counting centre in Nagapattinam on Tuesday morning, and three people have been booked for the same. Sources said a drone was found flying over the centre for about 20 minutes, around 5.30 am. A group of DMK functionaries, led by Nagapattinam South District Secretary N Gowthaman, demanded an explanation.

The arrested were identified as K Balaji (32), R Kumar (35) and S Suresh Kumar (28), who had come from Chennai. They were taken to Nagore police station and the police also examined the footage in the drone camera. Speaking to Express, a police official said, “They are a group of advertisement videographers. They had been shooting visuals of the college for making the ad, and their drone may have slipped into the premises of the counting centre.”

Elsewhere...
Meanwhile, DMK’s Bodinayakanur candidate, Thanga Tamilselvan, said while it was mandatory to register numbers of all vehicles entering into the counting centre, only one of the two police vehicles that came in was registered.

“The other vehicle has not received a pass and the number was not entered. An explanation has been sought from the department,” he said. He also urged District Election Officer H Krishnan Unni to remove the 96 empty EVMs kept unnecessarily at the centre.

Tensions prevailed at the counting centre set up in Jamal Mohamed College in Tiruchy, too, after a four-wheeler, without proper documentation, was provided entry into the premises. The college is one of the four counting centres in Tiruchy district. Following the incident, the police conducted an enquiry and found that the car belonged to one of the contractors who was given with the task of fitting more CCTV cameras and display screens, ahead of counting, in the premises.

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