Why Putting Off RK Nagar Bypolls Won't Stop Cash-For-Votes

Chennai: The cash-for-votes method to win an election is not entirely new in Tamil Nadu. Just ahead of the Tamil Nadu state elections, polls at two constituencies -- Aravakurichi and Thanjavur -- were held back after huge amounts of cash were seized.

Thus, political observers say postponement of RK Nagar bypolls will not help.

Not all voters of RK Nagar were happy. A few of them were angry that they were not given money while their neighbours were. Every time there is an election in the state, people expect money from different candidates. That is what happened this time too.

The Election Commission's decision has shocked many and parties in Tamil Nadu say it was politically motivated. Political analysts say EC's announcement tarnishes the image of a few parties that didn’t distribute money. Also Read: RK Nagar Bypoll Called Off, Sasikala's Nephew Guns for Election Commission

RK Radhakrishnan, Associate Editor, Frontline said: "Step is in the right direction. But the EC, instead of blaming it on all political parties and leaders, should have named those against whom FIRs have been registered. The act of the EC, using the phrase "unlawful activities of the candidates and political parties and their workers" seriously tarnishes the image of at east four parties that didn't distribute money to the people."

Gnani feels that candidates who distributed money should be disqualified from contesting once again. “The election commission’s announcement of cancellation of pools is a sham. If the commission has enough evidence against any candidate regarding bribing the voter, the commission should disqualify that candidate from contesting again. With no such punishment for bribing, the candidates go scot free and only the exchequer incurs unnecessary expenditure," he said.

The developments surrounding RK Nagar seem to bring back memories of the DMK's ingenuous methods of getting cash across to the electorate. Dubbed the Thirumangalam formula around 2009, the techniques of evading monitoring included slipping money into newspapers delivered to households. It even found mentions in the US cable bulletins that were released as part of the WikiLeaks.