Pudukottai: C Sinthamani, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate contesting from the Thirumayam constituency, has submitted a petition to the district administration demanding a recount of votes. She lost to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate and former minister S Regupathy by a margin of 1,492 votes.
Vote Counting Process Raises Suspicions
During the counting process, candidates from the DMK, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and TVK alternately held the lead across various rounds. Sinthamani told reporters that a sudden surge in votes in the final stages of counting had raised ‘serious suspicions.' At the end of the counting process, she appealed to the returning officer for a recount of votes, but her request was not entertained, and the victory certificate was issued to Regupathy.
Written Complaint Not Considered
“At the end of counting, officials asked us to submit a written complaint, and we did so mentioning the booths where we had suspicions. However, they later said we had not raised objections during the counting process itself and therefore our complaint could not be considered. As the next step, I have come to submit a petition to the district collector,” she said on Wednesday. The TVK candidate added that the request is for a recount in 18 booths.
As the collector was unavailable, the petition was handed over to the personal assistant (elections).
