Villagers quite sure of Thadahathis win

MADURAI: Villagers of Veluchamynagar are quite sure about this. They were witnesses to the declaration of election results for the ward no 4 of Pudukulam Panchayat. They claim Thadahathi Ammal was declared the winner by an election official on October 21, though the official statement contradicted them.“I was waiting for my wife’s results. That was when I heard the official announcing the victory of Thadahathi Ammal. Everyone around her were excited to see the old lady winning,” said Kubendran of Veluchamynagar, whose wife Jayapandi Ammal was a councillor candidate. Another resident of Veluchamynagar, which comes under the Thiruparankundram, backed him. “I was present during the announcement. I am sure she was declared the winner. The announcement came between 4.30 pm and 5 pm on Friday,” Chandrasekaran claimed.Chellaswamy (30), Pudukulam resident and one of the rival candidates of Thadahathi, claimed only he or Thadahathi had the chance of winning in ward 4 as most of their relatives were settled there. “A recounting or repoll should be conducted,” he said.“I voted for Thadahathi out of respect though she was nominated by my rival Muthuramalingam, the new panchayat president. She has been doing good work among the locals,” said Kachaammal, who contested for the village panchayat president post . Like Kachaammal, many ward no 4 residents said they had voted for Thadahathi respecting her age and service she rendered to the people. All of them expressed shock after hearing about the turn of events. To fuel their suspicion, Manimaran has issued some contradictory statements. He first stated that Thadahathi was declared  the winner on Friday. Later he said he was declared the winner in the first place. “She got her certificate by cheating the officials. I secured the maximum votes. My symbol was ‘key’. She had the ‘cot’. The symbols got mixed up,” he said.“We met the officials and explained to them about the whole incident. That is how Manimaran got the certificate,” said Devamani, who nominated Manimaran from ward no 4. “I am ready for recounting,” Manimaran said.