Fearing defeat, DMK party cadres attempted to capture a booth in Mylapore on the evening of the polls, held on Friday, April 19, 2024, evening while voting was underway, alleged BJP’s Chennai South candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan.
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Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, April 20, after lodging a complaint with the Returning Officer of the Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency, Ms. Soundararajan said there was an attempt by members of the DMK to capture booth number 13 at Austin Nagar in the Mylapore Assembly Constituency, which falls under the Chennai South Lok Sabha seat.
“Nearly 50 DMK members entered the booth and chased away all the BJP booth agents. They wanted to capture the booth. After a complaint from the BJP, the police and observers acted immediately and the attempt was prevented. The DMK is fearing defeat and is committing all kinds of atrocities. We want the Election Commission to conduct a re-poll in this booth,” she said.
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On Friday, BJP and AIADMK cadres had staged a protest, alleging that the DMK cadre had attempted to capture another booth, one at the ICDS Centre, Ganapathy Colony, Alwarpet, while polling was coming to a close in the evening.
On the voting numbers, Ms. Soundararajan said: “The reduction in polling percentage in this election is worrisome for everyone.”
She also alleged that the names of several eligible voters were deleted from the electoral rolls. Apart from spending crores of rupees in creating awareness for 100% voting, the Election Commission should ensure that the officers employed in the verification of electoral rolls should be duly qualified and trained, she added.