Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri slammed the State Election Commission for announcing polls only to rural local bodies in the State and said the move raised doubts over the transparency of the whole election process.
In a statement, Mr. Alagiri said, “No proper explanation has been given by the State Election Commissioner for holding the polls to the rural and urban local bodies separately. There is no transparency in the functioning of the SEC.”
Following the inauguration of five new districts, the borders of nine districts have changed. “The government has announced that polls will be held based on the delimitation process done in 2018, instead of undertaking delimitation in the new districts. The SEC too has accepted it. On what basis was this decision taken?” he asked.
There was a chance that representatives of the newly-formed districts would lose their relevance. Instead of looking at these issues, the SEC has announced polls to rural local bodies. “Instead of announcing the polls in a single phase, they have announced it in two phases. I charge that there is a political intention behind the move,” he said.
Accusing the AIADMK of influencing the SEC and using it as an extension of the government, Mr. Alagiri wondered if the local body elections would be held in a fair manner.
