Erode (East) MLA and senior Congress leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan has said that the acceptance of the nomination of the BJP’s candidate for Coimbatore, K. Annamalai, by election officials, was a blatant violation of law. He accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of being a puppet in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing media persons in Erode on Friday, March 29, 2024, Mr. Elangovan said barring the BJP, all political parties had raised objections to Mr. Annamalai’s nomination papers during their scrutiny, and had asked for his papers to be rejected. “But his nomination was accepted after election officials in Coimbatore received a call from the office of the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi,” he claimed and said that such an acceptance of nomination paper was against regulations. Mr. Annamalai is also president of the BJP in Tamil Nadu.
With regard to the AIADMK candidate for Erode, Ashok Kumar, Mr. Elangovan said election officials had seized over 10,000 saris that he had hidden in Bhavani, for distribution to voters. “However, except for the seizure and the registering of a case, no action has taken against the candidate so far,” he said. The MLA claimed that Mr. Ashok Kumar was opening many bank accounts in fake names and was trying to give money to voters. He urged election officials and the Income Tax Department to take necessary action.
Slamming the Central government for notifying revised wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), by claiming that permission was obtained from the Election Commission, Mr. Elangovan said this was a violation of the model code of conduct and wanted the notification to be withdrawn.
