Protesters, with inked fingers, say many denied voting right

AMID allegations that several eligible voters in Tamil Nadu couldn't vote in the April 19 Lok Sabha election, a protest was organised under the banner of 'People for Annamalai' here.

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K Annamalai, the BJP candidate for the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat, had alleged on the election day the names of thousands of people were missing from the electoral rolls.

The protesters, most of them with electoral stains on their fingers, raised slogans against the Election Commission. Holding placards they demanded voting rights and alleged their voting rights were denied in the recent LS polls and their names were intentionally removed from the voters' list.

Around 5% of total voters in the Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency were intentionally denied voting rights in this election, they alleged.

A participant who had voted held a placard stating why the vote was denied to him while he was alive. When asked, he said that he had cast his vote and he took part in the protest in support of others who were denied voting rights.