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Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO, on Saturday met with the Election Commission of India (ECI) and submitted a complaint seeking cancellation of the upcoming by-polls in Erode East Assembly constituency of Tamil Nadu.
Jayaram Venkatesan, the Convenor of the NGO, raised a series of allegations including the use of money to influence voters in the constituency. "DMK-Congress alliance has set up a camp in Karangulpalayam where hundreds of voters from Erode East are being brought and made to sit for the whole day. In return they are getting paid Rs 500 per day," Venkatesan alleged while submitting a written complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner. "Both Congress and AIADMK are indulging in activities of bribing voters. Voters are gifted items like anklets, cookers, and sarees in an effort to sway their decision-making in the upcoming by-poll," Venkatesan alleged. The NGO also requested the ECI to use its powers under Article 324 and cancel the by-election in Erode East Assembly. Campaigning for the by-poll is all set to come to an end at 6 pm today. Additionally, returning officer K Sivakumar gave parties instructions to make sure that all 107 temporary party offices were taken down and that all cadre and functionaries who travelled from other towns should left by the evening of February 25, before voting on February 27. (ANI)
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