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‘Govt caused her civil death’: AMMK candidate on Sasikala’s name deletion from voters’ list
The Chennai election office said that Sasikala’s name was deleted in 2019 itself before the Lok Sabha elections.
Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala’s name has been removed from the voter’s list from the Thousand Lights constituency in Chennai and she won’t be able to vote on April 6, claimed Sasikala’s team members on Monday, a day before the state goes to polls.
Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran’s party Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) said it was a conspiracy by the government. “They have caused a civil death of VK Sasikala,” AMMK’s Thousand Lights candidate N Vaidhyanathan said.
“The government has the power to delete the names of people only if they have died or if they apply for a change of address. The state and central government have deliberately done this. We also found that around 19,000 voters’ names, who are AMMK supporters, are missing,” he said.
Sasikala’s counsel Raja Senthoor Panidan, who approached the election commission for her name to be included from the new address on March 17, said he came to know about her name deletion on March 16.
“The very next day I met with chief election officer Satyabrata Sahoo but he said his powers to make any changes in the electoral rolls was only till March 9,” he added.
According to Sasikala’s team members, besides her, names of other family members, including her sister-in-law J Ilavarasi, and workers who were living at late J Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence, Veda Nilayam, have also been deleted after the AIADMK government acquired the residence for it to be converted into a memorial.
A total of 19 people who were living in the house, including cook Rajammal who lived there for three decades, are missing from the electoral rolls, Sasikala’s team stated. The case to transform the residence is pending with the Madras High Court as Jayalalithaa’s niece and nephew have claimed the property as her legal heirs.
The Chennai election office said that Sasikala’s name was deleted in 2019 itself before the Lok Sabha elections. “Only now it is being made into an issue,” said Thousand Lights’s assistant electoral rolls officer, Ravi Kumar.
“We sent a notice to the concerned party asking if they are residing there and gave ample time but since we didn’t get any response, we had to delete the names as per the protocol. I have an election to conduct tomorrow and have given my detailed response to the election commission. They will give a reply to the media,” Kumar added.
Sasikala and Ilavarasi were lodged in prison since February 2017 in Bengaluru in the disproportionate assets case and returned to Chennai in February this year after serving a four-year prison term. The two currently live in T Nagar in Chennai which also falls under the Thousand Lights constituency.
“Just because the government took over the property, how can they delete the names without issuing any notice to us? As her advocate, we will seek action against the officer who deleted her name without a valid reason because of which she has lost her franchise,” Panidan said.
According to the Representation of People’s Act, a person who is residing in a particular area can register for enrollment in electoral rolls by applying with booth level electoral officer with relevant proof of residence documents. While enrollment is a continuous process throughout the year, for election-bound states, the Election Commission has a cut-off date.
“This cut-off date is to enable a level-playing field and to prevent last-minute addition to the electoral rolls. Also, most of the personnel engaged in updating electoral rolls are also deployed on election-related duty and therefore, the cut-off date is given. In exceptional cases, where the name of the person has been wrongly removed, the name can be added even after the cut-off date,” a senior election commission official said.
He added that Sasikala was not residing at the Chennai address for several years and therefore, the election officers had the right to delete her name. The name could have been added had she applied on time, he added.
Meanwhile, the AMMK candidate has written to the ECI for the election in the Thousand Lights constituency to be postponed until Sasikala’s name is included. In his letter, Sasikala is still addressed as the AIADMK’s general secretary. The AIADMK has abated the general secretary post and expelled Sasikala and Dhinakaran in September 2017.
While Sasikala was still in jail, Dhinakaran floated the AMMK with a breakaway faction of her supporters. After her release, Sasikala made moves to reclaim the AIADMK but the party, under chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami, decided against taking her back and she decided to ‘step away’ from politics.
