The Election Commission has sought a report from the Chennai District Electoral Officer on how actor Srikanth was allowed to vote in the April 18 Lok Sabha polls when his name was not in the voter's list, said a senior official on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said a report had been sought. When TNM reached out to the actor, he had said, “The polling officer allowed it since I was issued an election ID. After I got back home, I realised that my Aadhaar card had the new address and later I found that my voting was supposed to be in Valluvar Kottam.” It is interesting to note that the two booths are in different constituencies - Chennai South and Chennai Central respectively.
Similarly, the poll panel has found itself in a fix with another actor Sivakarthikeyan casting his vote in the Lok Sabha polls in a polling booth here when his name was not in the voter's list. Sahoo has ordered action against the polling officials in Chennai who allowed actor Sivakarthikeyan to vote on April 18, when his name was not on the electoral roll. "Sivakarthikeyan's name was not on the voter's list. He has voted despite that. This is a mistake on the part of the polling booth officials present there. I have ordered for action against them," Sahoo told reporters at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
On April 18, Sivakarthikeyan and his wife Aarthi had gone to vote at the Good Shepherd School polling booth in Valasaravakkam. However, while his wife’s name was in the list, Sivakarthikeyan’s was not. According to reports, Sivakarthikeyan returned to the booth an hour later and was allowed to cast his vote. When questioned about the same, he reportedly stated that he had received 'special permission'.
(With inputs from IANS)