Lok Sabha polls in Vellore likely to be cancelled over cash haul from DMK candidate's office

The Election Commission has decided to cancel the Lok Sabha election in Vellore constituency of Tamil Nadu over excess use of money power, sources aware of the development were quoted by PTI as saying on Monday.

The Election Commission is learnt to have prepared a recommendation in this regard to be sent to the President. "It would be sent today itself," an official said on Monday.

Since the president signs the notification for Lok Sabha elections, it is he who rescinds it.

The decision came after a large sum of cash was allegedly seized from the DMK candidate's office a few days ago.

On April 10, the district police had filed an FIR against DMK's Vellore candidate and two others in connection with the Income Tax raids held in the district recently.

The FIR was filed against DMK nominee D M Kathir Anand under the Representation of People Act for giving "wrong information" in his poll affidavit filed along with his nomination papers. Anand is the son of senior party leader Durai Murugan.

Incidentally, during the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, the ECI had rescinded the election to Thanjavur and Aravakurichi segments following complaints of large-scale money distribution.

Earlier, I-T sleuths had on March 30 conducted searches at the premises owned by Durai Murugan in this district over suspected use of unaccounted money for electioneering and seized Rs 10.50 lakh of alleged "excess" cash.

Two days later, the I-T officials said they had seized Rs 11.53 crore from a cement godown belonging to a DMK leader's associate in the same district.

Searches were conducted at Durai Murugan's residence, where some printouts with ward numbers written over them had been found, but the "main person", indicating the assessee, had dismissed them as "junk", I-T officials had said.

While a sum of Rs 19 lakh was found during the raid, Rs 10.50 lakh was seized as "excess" after allowing the cash declared in the election affidavit of Anand, they said.

Durai Murugan had then said, "We did not conceal anything," adding that all his family members were income tax assessees.

He alleged the raids were a 'conspiracy' by some political leaders who could not face them in the electoral arena and also questioned the timing of the searches in the midst of a full-fledged election campaign.

(With PTI inputs)