Election Petition Filed Before Madras HC Challenging Virudhunagar Congress MP's Election Citing Distribution Of Guarantee Cards Among Voters Promising ₹ 1 Lakh

R. Sasikumar, a resident of Madurai District, has filed an election petition in the Madras High Court challenging the election of Manickam Tagore, the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate, in the No. 34 Virudhunagar Parliamentary constituency in the recent Lok Sabha election.

The Petition has been filed under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, alleges corrupt practices during the election held on April 19, 2024. The Election Petition has been filed through Advocate C Bharathi Raja.

In the petition, Sasikumar, who is the District President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claims that Tagore and his party members engaged in various malpractices to influence the election outcome. These alleged activities include distributing cash and tokens under the "MAHALAKSHMI Scheme" to voters, which were subsequently seized by election officials. Several FIRs have been registered against members of Mr. Tagore's party under Sections 171(E) and 188 of the IPC in connection with these incidents.

Sasikumar further contends that despite lodging complaints and representations to election authorities, no action was taken to address these violations effectively. He asserts that these actions violated the Conduct of Election Rules and undermined the fairness of the electoral process.

The Petitioner contends that Congress party members distributed a Guarantee Card issued by the Congress Party under the "Mahalakshmi Scheme." This scheme promised Rs. 1 lakh for the head of households and opportunities for educated youth, including a one-year internship for women.

"Despite an FIR and representations made, the 1st respondent, as a member of the Virudhunagar Parliamentary Constituency, encouraged party members to win the election by unfair means. Based on secret information received by the Sub-Registrar of the Co-operative Department in Virudhunagar District, it was found that party members distributed a Guarantee Card issued by the Congress Party under the "Mahalakshmi Scheme." This scheme promised Rs. 1 lakh for the head of households and opportunities for educated youth, including a one-year internship for women. N.R. Kamaraj, on his own voluntary confession, revealed that these tokens were distributed based on instructions from party headquarters," the plea states. 

The Petition, accompanied by relevant documents and material evidence, seeks the Court's intervention to declare Mr. Tagore's election as void. It also requests the Court to direct Tagore to bear the costs of the petition and to grant any other relief deemed appropriate.

"...the 1st respondent (Tagore), as a Member of Parliament, distributed tokens to the general public and encouraged his party members to distribute bribe amounts to ensure his election. Despite repeated complaints from the petitioner's party candidate to the 3rd respondent, there was no proper response. Consequently, the party candidate organized a Dharna (protest) with the support of party members and the general public, which was reported in the newspapers," the plea reads. 

The Petitioner prays a declaration of the election of the returned candidate namely B.Manickam Tagore, the First Respondent herein from No.34, Virudhunagar Parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu in the election held on 19/04/2024 in which results were declared on 04.06.2024 as void.

Cause Title: Mr. R.Sasikumar v. Mr. Manickam Tagore and Ors.