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All Jayalalitha nominations rejected

The papers, filed by her from Andipatti and Krishnagiri, besides Pudukkottai and Bhuvanagiri on her behalf, were rejected by returning officers after considerable arguments by her counsels, mainly as the law did not permit a person convicted for corruption for two or more years from contesting elections for six years, unless the conviction was suspended.

Andipatti RO S Jaya and Krishnagiri RO Madhivanan rejected her papers, citing Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, which barred a person convicted for two years and above from contesting elections.

Jayalalitha had been convicted and sentenced to more than two years in two Tansi land deal cases. A petition subsequently filed by her before the Madras high court, seeking suspension of her conviction was dismissed. Despite this, she chose to enter the fray.

DMK sitting member Assaiyan received a shot in the arm when Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy joined him in opposing Jayalalitha's candidature in Andipatti. Appearing before the RO, on behalf of party nominee V S Chandralekha, a former IAS officer and a victim in an acid attack during the previous AIADMK regime. He argued for the rejection of Jayalalitha's nominations under Section 8(3) of the act.

In Bhuvanagiri, AIADMK MP and former Tamil Nadu Election Commission chairman K Malaisamy and former chief justice of Haryana and Punjab high court V Ramasamy argued in favour of Jayalalitha's candidature. They contended that the question of Jayalalitha violating Section 33 (7)(b) would arise only if her papers filed in all the four constituencies were accepted and she failed to withdraw two of them.

Santhanam, the RO of Bhuvanagiri, however, rejected the arguments and passed orders rejecting Jayalalitha's nominations.

In fact, there were indications on the line of action proposed by the ROs in Jayalalitha's case, when the RO of Sedapatti constituency rejected the papers of former Union minister and ex-speaker Sedapatti R Muthiah, citing the 1997 guidelines.

Interestingly, Muthiah who was convicted for 25 months in the disproportionate wealth case, filed his nomination to contest from his home constituency Sedapatti on the last day for filing of nominations on April 23 as an independent.

UNI

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