Special Reports Tamil Nadu

Erode Formula: ₹8000, Meat, Mettur Trip, Detention Camps With Food And Entertainment; DMK Takes Tirumangalam Formula To Next Level

February 20, 2023
The Commune

The amount of money and gift hampers distributed, as well as the new innovative way of confining voters in locked camps and keeping them inside for the entire day, discovered by DMK minister Senthil Balaji, has caused the famous ‘Thirumangalam formula,’ founded by another DMK veteran MK Alagiri, to bow its head in shame.

A few days ago, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai has written a complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner of India regarding the distribution of widespread money for the Erode East by-election and “inaction” by the state election commission on a complaint regarding “blatant abuse of power by DMK govt” in the Erode East by-poll.

He alleged that the DMK members distributed 2 kgs of meat and ₹1000 per voter per day, with a ₹5000 incentive if the voter sat continuously in the designated place for 20 days.

In addition to the BJP, the AIADMK has petitioned the Madras High Court, requesting that the Election Commission take appropriate action to ensure a free and fair election in the Erode East constituency. Despite the opposition parties’ complaints, the distribution of money and gift hampers has not stopped, but has increased as the election approaches.

Despite videos of DMK cadres distributing money and gift hampers going viral on social media, there has been no concrete action taken.

Political analyst Savukku Shankar claims that as the election dates near, the DMK has increased the cash for votes from ₹2000 per day to ₹8000 per vote.

In addition to ₹8000 per vote, DMK cadres distributed 1 kg of meat, groceries, ₹1000 per head, and biryani on a daily basis with a focus on the poor and lower middle class in the constituency. These lower middle class and poor residents of Erode East seat are primarily from the Arundathiyar community, who were regarded as the AIADMK’s primary voter base. DMK has therefore been spending money like there is no tomorrow in the constituency to win the support of the Arundhathiyar community.

Erode Formula

Opposition parties claim that, in addition to distributing cash for votes, voters in the Erode East Assembly constituency have been confined to camps by DMK men who serve them food and give them cash every day for not attending the opposition AIADMK candidate’s election campaign.

According to reports, recently released movies such as Varisu and Thunivu were screened using projectors to keep people engaged inside the camp. Apart from film screenings, Tamil folk dances such as ‘Karagattam’ were performed inside the camp. According to political analyst Savukku Shankar, one of the Karagattam shows inside the camp was abruptly stopped by the ladies inside the camp because the show became very obscene. These images of ‘Karagattam’ inside the DMK camp have gone viral on social media.

“The ruling DMK men have erected shamianas at all booths and confined the voters who are served food and given cash daily. The Election Commission of India should take immediate steps to remove the shamianas and free the voters,” AIADMK former State Minister C Ve Shanmugam said. While the ruling DMK men met voters and garnered votes, the AIADMK were not allowed to canvass, he said.

Videos of DMK cadres distributing cookers in Erode East constituency have gone viral on social media since the morning (February 20).

In one viral video, a lady who received a cooker from the DMK said, “We got two cookers, one for myself and one for my brother-in-law. My neighbour who received the cooker had the 84th token. Now they(DMK) have gone this way. They are giving one cooker per house. I did not go to get the cooker. My husband got it for me. This is a small size cooker. They asked us to vote for congress symbol (Kai chinnam).” Another elderly lady standing nearby expressed her disappointment that the DMK did not provide tokens for both their daughter and granddaughter, despite their request.

Savukku Shankar shared videos of the DMK distributing cookers from the home of a local leader named Kumarasamy, which is located opposite the Sengodampalayam Shakti Nagar tennis court in Erode East constituency.

He also shared visuals of the DMK leader’s stock room, where the cooker meant for voters was kept.

Images of tokens intended for voters given by the DMK to collect cookers were shared on social media

Image

Opposition parties also claimed that in order to prevent people from meeting the ADMK candidate, DMK leaders took Arunthathiyar, who are daily workers, on a tour of Mettur Dam and fed them near camps in the dam. They claimed that 18 to 20 buses are used on a trip that takes people from the housing board in the early morning and returns them to their homes late at night. The visuals of voters from Erode East constituency being taken into a bus by DMK cadres for a trip to Mettur have gone viral on social media.

It is worth noting that Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai shared a video of DMK Minister KN Nehru and Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan discussing the distribution of money and gifts to voters, which was accidentally picked up by a mic in a public meeting.

On 11 February 2023, Election Officer H Krishnanunni stated that election officials and police personnel seized tokens from the car of DMK South Union Treasurer Sarbudeen in Tirupur district after receiving information about the distribution of money at night through tokens during the election campaign.

The DMK, led by MK Stalin with his trusted lieutenant Minister Senthil Balaji has taken corruption and election malpractice to a new extreme.

Not only has the stakes gone up in this by-election. The cost of politics itself has gone up because of this high-stake election with voters being lured with money power.

The Erode East by-election will go down in the electoral history of independent India as the election which shot up the cost of politics to a new high.

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