Sarees, lamps and biryani: DMK posts photos accusing TVK of bribing Dharapuram voters on poll eve

As Dharapuram and Madurantakam head to the polls on Tuesday, the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam faces fresh accusations of trying to buy the mandate. DMK leader Senthil Balaji on Sunday posted photographs on social media alleging that TVK workers were distributing sarees and lamps and serving biryani to voters in Dharapuram ahead of the October 6 by-elections. Balaji claimed the photographs showed items being handed out at a booth in Kundaram, and alleged a systematic effort to influence voters in the final stretch of campaigning. Leaders of the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have separately raised cash-for-vote allegations against the TVK, adding to the Opposition chorus that the ruling party is flooding the two reserved constituencies with inducements. The charges land on the eve of the first electoral test for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's government, which has staked its prestige on the twin bypolls. Vijay himself conducted roadshows across Dharapuram and Madurantakam in the final leg of campaigning, reaching out to farming communities and voters. These are not the first inducement charges of this campaign. AIADMK MP I. S. Inbadurai had earlier petitioned the Election Commission for an urgent probe into alleged TVK cash distribution at Rettipalayam and Acharapakkam in Madurantakam, following media reports from September 22. NTK's Dharapuram candidate M. Karthika alleged that TVK workers gave voters tiffin boxes, Rs 6,000 in cash and silver coins along with a so-called 'Victory Cup', displaying phone photographs and complaining that the Returning Officer was unresponsive. The bypolls were necessitated by the May resignations of two AIADMK legislators, Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama, who joined the TVK within weeks of winning and now contest as its candidates. Dharapuram sees a five-cornered contest with 22 candidates, including the DMK's S. Suganya, while Madurantakam's fight pits Kumaravel against the DMK's I. Paranthaman. Counting is on October 9. The campaign has also seen the Tiruppur district police book Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin for involving a minor in his Dharapuram campaign van, and the TVK announcing an EC complaint against the DMK leadership over alleged derogatory remarks against Sathyabama. No response from the TVK to the latest bribery charges was reported as of publication.