Saw video of Srikanth voting: CEO
Had Earlier Said Actor Didn’t Vote
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:25.04.2019
Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer Satyabrata Sahoo on Wednesday said he has sought a report from the Chennai district electoral officer on how actor Srikanth cast his vote in the Lok Sabha elections on April 18, though his name was not on the electoral rolls.
In a U-turn from his earlier statement that the actor did not vote, the CEO said he received a video showing Srikanth casting his vote in a polling booth at Saligramam in South Chennai Lok Sabha constituency. “We have received a video through WhatsApp showing Srikanth voting. Immediately, we forwarded the video to the Chennai district electoral officer asking for a detailed report,” said Sahoo.
He also said action has been taken against an official who allowed actor Sivakarthikeyan to cast his vote, though his name was also not on the electoral rolls. Sivakarthikeyan cast his vote in a booth at a school in Valasaravakkam. His wife’s name was on the rolls and she voted in the same booth. “Now that the vote has been cast, we will take it into consideration as part of the total account. Since the actor voted without his name on the rolls, we have informed the Election Commission. The EC has ordered departmental action against the official,” said Sahoo.
Experts said there are three options for the Election Commission during counting. “During counting, when the margin between the two leading candidates is wide, then the votes polled in the problematic booths need not be counted and the results can be announced by the returning officer,” said former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami.
The other option is to know to which party’s candidate the two actors had cast their votes. “This can happen only when the court says so. Even with the EVMs, we can know through a roundabout way to which candidate the actors have voted for and count all other votes except the two votes,” said Gopalaswami.
The last option is to go for a re-poll in the two booths. “The Election Commission must immediately order repoll in these booths so that there is no confusion during counting and see to it that the two actors don’t vote again in the re-poll,” he said.
DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan wanted the Election Commission to decide on the issue immediately. “Before the EVMs, such votes will be challenged and the ballot paper used to be kept in a separate envelope and not considered during counting. Since both the actors have polled their votes in the EVMs and it has been accounted for, it is for the Election Commission to take a decision on whether to order a re-poll,” said Elangovan.
Meanwhile, additional chief electoral officer V Rajaraman will be visiting Karur to check the security of the counting room after Congress candidate Jothimani filed a complaint seeking better security.
Had Earlier Said Actor Didn’t Vote
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:25.04.2019
Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer Satyabrata Sahoo on Wednesday said he has sought a report from the Chennai district electoral officer on how actor Srikanth cast his vote in the Lok Sabha elections on April 18, though his name was not on the electoral rolls.
In a U-turn from his earlier statement that the actor did not vote, the CEO said he received a video showing Srikanth casting his vote in a polling booth at Saligramam in South Chennai Lok Sabha constituency. “We have received a video through WhatsApp showing Srikanth voting. Immediately, we forwarded the video to the Chennai district electoral officer asking for a detailed report,” said Sahoo.
He also said action has been taken against an official who allowed actor Sivakarthikeyan to cast his vote, though his name was also not on the electoral rolls. Sivakarthikeyan cast his vote in a booth at a school in Valasaravakkam. His wife’s name was on the rolls and she voted in the same booth. “Now that the vote has been cast, we will take it into consideration as part of the total account. Since the actor voted without his name on the rolls, we have informed the Election Commission. The EC has ordered departmental action against the official,” said Sahoo.
Experts said there are three options for the Election Commission during counting. “During counting, when the margin between the two leading candidates is wide, then the votes polled in the problematic booths need not be counted and the results can be announced by the returning officer,” said former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami.
The other option is to know to which party’s candidate the two actors had cast their votes. “This can happen only when the court says so. Even with the EVMs, we can know through a roundabout way to which candidate the actors have voted for and count all other votes except the two votes,” said Gopalaswami.
The last option is to go for a re-poll in the two booths. “The Election Commission must immediately order repoll in these booths so that there is no confusion during counting and see to it that the two actors don’t vote again in the re-poll,” he said.
DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan wanted the Election Commission to decide on the issue immediately. “Before the EVMs, such votes will be challenged and the ballot paper used to be kept in a separate envelope and not considered during counting. Since both the actors have polled their votes in the EVMs and it has been accounted for, it is for the Election Commission to take a decision on whether to order a re-poll,” said Elangovan.
Meanwhile, additional chief electoral officer V Rajaraman will be visiting Karur to check the security of the counting room after Congress candidate Jothimani filed a complaint seeking better security.
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