Lok Sabha Elections: Notes for votes in Tamil Nadu are now becoming an expensive deal for parties and candidates.
Despite the strictness of the Election Commission, there are no signs of stopping the growing trend of voting in exchange of notes and candidates are having to find different ways for the voting to be held on April 19 in Tamil Nadu. No candidate or party is openly accepting giving money in exchange for votes.
Sanjay Mishra, Chennai. Despite the strictness of the Election Commission, there is no sign of stopping the growing trend of voting in exchange of notes and for the voting to be held on April 19 in Tamil Nadu, the candidates have to try to reach out to a section of voters who are affected by this. Different ways have to be found for this.
In view of the all-round surveillance of the Commission and the threats of roving flying squads, the candidates have to find a way to please this section of voters by delivering gifts ranging from mobile or dish research to household consumer goods. No candidate or party is openly accepting the issue of giving money in exchange for votes, but in informal conversations they are not shying away from openly saying that the growing aspirations of this section of voters are making the path of electoral politics expensive.
EC recovered cash worth Rs 400 crore
Political parties or candidates may refrain from coming on record and openly commenting on the increasing influence of currency notes in elections, but the data released by the Election Commission two days ago about seizure of Rs 4,600 crore in cash and material is a clear indication in this direction. are doing. Of the cash worth around Rs 400 crore that the Commission has recovered so far, the maximum amount of Rs 53 crore has been seized in Tamil Nadu.
Voter wooing practices have a history in Tamil Nadu over the years, but their growing scale is now putting pressure on candidates and parties’ election budgets. From Chennai, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Rameshwaram to Coimbatore, candidates and their supporters of various parties discussed the note factor in off-the-record conversations and mentioned the deepening challenges of the election budget.
The customs are different here
While campaigning late in the evening for one of the three Lok Sabha seats in Chennai, a candidate from a major party was seen passing through the slums, alerting his managers to ensure that the facilities earmarked for these areas are accessible to all. In Tamil Nadu, when the candidate’s convoy passes through the settlements, women in the villages and colonies, according to tradition, welcome them with an Aarti plate in which some honorarium used to be kept, but due to the keen eyes of the Election Commission, now there is cash in the plate. Candidates do not take the risk of being placed and a way has been found to provide facilities behind the scenes.
An official associated with the election management of a major regional party in Tamil Nadu said that if cash does not reach due to the vigilance of the administration and the Commission, then people expect recharge of mobile or dish TV or in kind on the basis of per vote. The services are made available to him before voting.
FIR registered against Nagendran’s close associates
The editor-in-chief of a leading Tamil channel based in Chennai also said in an informal conversation that the increasing expectations of the people to get something from the candidates is putting pressure on both the parties and the candidates. In view of the increasing cases of cash being seized, gifts ranging from recharge to facilities have become an option. In this election, many incidents of money laundering have been registered in Tamil Nadu, in which the name of BJP candidate from Tirunelveli Nayanar Nagendran has cropped up in the case of Rs 4 crore cash seized from Nellai Express and the police has also registered an FIR against his close ones.
