A letter addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu by a returning officer from the Nilgiri Lok Sabha constituency alleged that the returning officer displayed “bias” towards DMK candidate A Raja.
In his complaint letter, assistant expenditure supervisor P Saravanan alleged that returning officer M Aruna was “harassing” him and was personally looking after all the expenses related to A Raja.
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He further claimed that Aruna was attempting to manipulate the accounting procedures to benefit A Raja and was facing difficulties due to her not being able to adjust to the bias of the RO towards the DMK candidate.
“There is a difference of lakhs in the expenses recorded in the shadow observation register of our team compared to the accounts of candidate A Raja. The returning officer is repeatedly harassing me to reduce the booked expenditure,” he said.
During this, PTI Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahu is reported to have said that “steps will be taken” based on the officials’ report on the election expenditure officer’s allegation that the returning officer of the Nilgiri Lok Sabha constituency was showing favoritism towards DMK candidate A Raja.
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When asked about the allegation, Sahu told reporters, “We have taken note of it on the basis of press reports. “Further action will be taken after receiving the report from the concerned authorities.”
The state’s senior returning officer responded to a question regarding an allegation made by an assistant expenditure observer in the Nilgiris, claiming that the returning officer displayed bias towards DMK candidate A Raja, and that he did not ensure free voting. Has requested intervention from top election officials for this. “Fair elections.”
(with inputs from agencies)
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Published: April 12, 2024, 08:09 am IST
