Polls, high drama go hand in hand in Sathankulam

Polling in Sathankulam by-election passed off peacefully today, barring a few minor incidents. According to a press release issued by the El...

Polling in Sathankulam by-election passed off peacefully today, barring a few minor incidents. According to a press release issued by the Election Commission, total votes polled may be around 55 per cent.

There were reports of stone pelting against mediapersons, of an attack on an autorickshaw driver in Nazareth, manhandling of an AIADMK MP in Sundankottai and complaints of bogus voting. AIADMK Rajyasabha MP Maithreyan was reportedly roughed up around 10 am in the hamlet of Sundankottai by Congressmen. He claimed to have gone there for a marriage but the people would not believe him.

Around noon, there were reports of three ministers ‘‘secretly’’ camping in the constituency. Incidentally, Congress president S. Balakrishnan and working president E.V.K.S. Elangovan had retired to a private hotel in Tirunelveli on police orders.

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Steady polling was witnessed in places like Nazareth, Kachanaavilai, Mookuperi, Sathankulam, Karungulam Union polling stations. In some places there was delay in commencement of polling. Presiding officers in these booths attributed the delay to technical snags. Soon after reports of tension in a booth at Vellarikai Oorani near Prakasapuram, mediapersons rushed to the spot. However, an irate group from AIADMK led by Thoothukudi Anna Labour Union district secretary Agniperumal threw stones and chappals at them. Policemen chose to look the other way. The scribes then squatted on the road condemning the manner in which the mob behaved.

As a central poll observer was passing by, the reporters intercepted the car and conveyed their plight. The officer assured of necessary action. Mediapersons from outside Sathankulam weren’t allowed to enter the constituency even though they were had valid EC passes.