RAMANATHAPURAM/MADURAI: Days after posters of candidates with the same name as former chief minister O Panneerselvam were seen splashed across the constituency, two namesakes were booked for violating election rules in Thirupullani block. This, however, is not the first time that the namesakes have come on the police radar. Earlier, cases related to similar offences were registered in Paramakudi block.
With the polling date just round the corner, politicos are actively campaigning by popularising their symbols. Notably, the posters of OPS' namesakes across Ramanathapuram contain the letters 'OPS' accompanied by their respective symbols. Since these posters were pasted without obtaining prior permission and for not containing details of the printing press, the officials are registering cases against the namesakes and removing the posters. On Friday, case was filed against OPSes with bucket, grapes, and sugarcane farmer symbols at Paramakudi.
On Sunday, four violation cases were registered, out of which two are against OPS namesakes. Two were booked in Thirupullani block, based on a complaint filed by election officials. The OPSes with the grape symbol from Solai Alagupuram and the bucket from Thirumangalam were booked by the Mudukulathur police.
The third case was booked in Thitupalaikudi area. While the primary accused remains unknown, the flying squad found posters of the original OPS, with the jackfruit symbol, pasted without proper details in Senagudi in Thitupalaikudi area. The fourth case was booked by the Uchipuli police against one Udhaya from Uchipuli, who was caught pasting posters of a political party without any prior permission.
During a media interaction held in Madurai, Marudhu Alaguraja, a functionary from the original OPS' faction said, "The namesake candidates printed posters and pamphlets from the same press in a bid to create confusion among voters, and pasted these across Ramanathapuram constituency. People are well aware of our symbol."
On the other hand, one of the OPS namesakes is said to have submitted a petition with the superintendent of police, alleging that he has been receiving threatening calls after he reportedly started gaining traction among voters.