TN-Left parties allege TVK ranks top among all parties when it comes to cash distribution to voters.”

The Left parties on Thursday accused the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of distributing money to voters in two Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies where bypolls are scheduled for October 6, and demanded that the Election Commission take action.

P Shanmugam, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said the Commission must take note of the allegations and seek answers from the political parties concerned.

The two Left parties, which won two Assembly seats in the April 23 elections, provide outside support to the TVK government. The CPI(M) is contesting in Madurantakam, while the Communist Party of India (CPI) is contesting in Dharapuram.

“Regarding the assembly by-elections, I went to Madurantakam yesterday. Everyone knows that the Marxist Communist Party is contesting in Madurantakam and the Communist Party of India is contesting in Dharapuram. Yesterday, when we visited several villages in Madurantakam, we were distributing pamphlets detailing why the Left parties are contesting and why people should vote for us. But, people in some villages told us that everyone else is distributing money while we are giving only pamphlets,” he said.

Shanmugam said villagers told him that the ruling TVK was distributing the highest amount among all parties.

“In the previous poll conducted in April 23, Vijay collected votes promising that ‘We are a pure force and will not distribute money for votes’, and now this is a confession given by the general public: TVK distributed the most money among everyone,” he told reporters.

He said the Left parties had told voters that their strength lay in struggles and party principles, and that neither the CPI nor the CPI(M) would buy votes by distributing money.

“However, reports are coming from the field that others are distributing money to voters on a massive scale. The Election Commission must take action on this, and the concerned leaders of such political parties must answer,” Shanmugam said.

TVK REACTION

Responding to the allegations, TVK national spokesperson and advocate M Sathya Kumar said, “This is just a mere allegation. It is nothing like that. The point is that the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam will never give money for votes. Votes are only for the face of our Thalapathy (chief minister C Joseph Vijay).”

Earlier in the day, the Left parties staged protests across Tamil Nadu demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Shanmugam alleged that the two election commissioners had exposed massive irregularities within the Election Commission and accused the CEC of functioning as a puppet of the ruling party.

“The chief election commissioner has committed a massive betrayal against the people of India,” he alleged.

“The CEC does not have the slightest qualification to remain in office for even a single minute, and immediate removal from the CEC post is the primary demand of the Left parties,” he said.

On DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan’s statement that the party would support a resolution in Parliament seeking the CEC’s removal, despite not attending an INDIA bloc meeting on Wednesday, Shanmugam welcomed the announcement.

“This is not an issue belonging to one specific party, it is about protecting the voting rights of the citizens of India,” he said, appealing to democratic forces to unite to safeguard constitutionally guaranteed voting rights.