Lok Sabha polls | Plea in Madras High Court to conduct special polling in Coimbatore for voters whose names were missing from list

Voters seen waiting in line to cast their votes in Coimbatore during the Lok Sabha polls held in T.N. on April 19, 2024 | Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M

A resident of Coimbatore has approached Madras High Court seeking a direction to Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct special polling arrangements for those whose names had been deleted from the electoral list and to not declare the Coimbatore Parliamentary constituency results until this polling takes place.

R. Suthanthira Kanna, a doctor employed in Australia, had filed the writ petition. In an affidavit filed through his counsel M. Mathan Raj, the petitioner said, he flew down to India on April 13 especially to exercise his franchise in phase I of polling for the Lok Sabha elections conducted in Tamil Nadu, on April 19, 2024.

However, to his shock, the petitioner found that his name and that of his wife had been removed from the electoral rolls, though their daughter’s name had been retained. He immediately lodged a complaint on ECI’s portal on April 15 and received an acknowledgement, but there was no resolution.

Subsequently, he found that the names of thousands of other electors too had been rescinded from the electoral rolls and they too had been prevented from exercising their franchise on April 19. The petitioner also listed out the names of 61 electors whose names were found to be missing from the electoral list.

“We have got a positive role to play in electing the Member of Parliament to represent our constituency for another five years,” the petitioner said and contended that it was not proper to deny such a right to thousands of residents of the Coimbatore parliamentary constituency.