Money power on show as RK Nagar bypoll campaign ends
CHENNAI: Money seemed to have played a big role in the campaigning for Tamil Nadu’s prestigious RK Nagar seat — a VIP assembly constituency in North Chennai that was held by late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, whose death necessitated the December 21 by-election here.
If DMK working president MK Stalin is to be believed, a sum of ₹100 crore is already said to have been spent by ruling AIADMK led by EPS-OPS combine. Stalin is eyeing the vacuum left by Jaya’s demise, as also the growing polarisation in the AIADMK with party rebel TTV Dinakaran chipping away the votes.
The DMK leader even alleged that local police officials were colluding with the ruling party and helping them distribute money to voters. The Election Commission of India, which viewed the developments in RK Nagar by-election, sent a senior IRS official, Vikram Batra, to study the issue in depth.
Incidentally, Batra was the EC’s special officer in April too when the bypoll was countermanded for precisely the same reason — naked display of money power and its misuse in electioneering and bribery of voters.
He spent two days in the constituency, met officials and political party representatives and ground staff of the poll body and reviewed the situation on the ground.
He left for Delhi on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to brief the Election Commission.
All eyes will be on the EC in Delhi as to what view it takes on the situation in the constituency where allegations and counterallegations of money distribution have been made by the contesting political parties.
Unprecedented security measures were in place in the constituency. Usually, it costs ₹75 lakh for the commission to conduct a by-election in one assembly constituency, but so far ₹3 crore has been spent on RK Nagar by the poll body.
A DMK spokesperson, echoing the sentiments of his leader Stalin, alleged that a single vote in RK Nagar could fetch as much as ₹6,000. A survey of voters in the constituency by a local daily claimed nearly 70% of the voters admitting that they would take money. Only 30% of the voters said they would not accept money.
On Tuesday, curtains came down on campaigning for the bypoll amid suspense over Batra’s report and the likely decision of the Election Commission.