The residents of Sumaithangi in Thirupullani block of Ramanathapuram, which has a dominant representation of the Scheduled Castes, have been booked for conducting ‘polling’ to shortlist a candidate for the post of Kalari village panchayat president, after four aspirants sought to take on an opponent.
A village elder, who was appointed the ‘election officer’, conducted the polling at the community hall in the village after printing ballot papers and allotting symbols to the four ‘candidates’, only to face criminal action. After revenue and police officials stopped the ‘election’, Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao ordered the registration of an FIR against the four candidates and those who organised the polling.
The 450-odd voters in the village were casting their ballots when revenue and police officials stopped the exercise and seized the ‘polling materials’, including ballot papers, a ballot box – a mud pot covered with a cloth, and having an opening for dropping the ballot papers — and a rubber stamp for casting votes.
The Kalari panchayat, which has been reserved for the Schedule Castes, comprises Kalari, Sumaithangi, Melaseettai and Anaikudi villages and has an electorate of 1,443. Except Sumaithangi, the other villages have a mixed population comprising the Scheduled Castes and other communities.
After the residents of Kalari ‘selected’ a person for the president’s post with the backing of people from other communities, four people from Sumaithangi sought to enter the fray. Observing that Kalari’s candidate would win hands down if all the four threw their hats into the ring, the elders of Sumaithangi decided to select one of them and pit him against the man from Kalari.
Names and symbols
The ballot papers contained the names and symbols of M. Ramaiah (Ladder), N. Raja (Ceiling fan), R. Veerakumar (Bow and arrow) and V. Sethuveerapandi (Electric bulb).
Since polling commenced at 10 a.m., 134 villagers had cast their votes when the revenue and police officials intervened and stopped the exercise.
