Alleged use of children in election campaign not a ground to set aside victory, CM Vijay tells Madras High Court
He makes the submission in response to an election petition filed by DMK’s Inigo Irudayaraj challenging Mr. Vijay’s victory from Tiruchi East Assembly constituency
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay argued before the Madras High Court on Thursday that his opponent S. Inigo Irudayaraj's allegations of improper election campaign tactics involving children could not be used to nullify the results. "Even assuming the allegations to be correct for the limited purpose of the present application," Mr. Irudayaraj had not stated the necessary material facts to declare an election invalid under Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the CM said.
The judge directed the Registry to number the application and list it on Monday. In his petition, Mr. Irudayaraj claimed the Chief Minister had "blackmailed" children during the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election campaign. However, Mr. Vijay contended the petition could not be based on mere assertions voters were "emotionally swayed" without evidence that the allegations led to a specific number of votes in his favor.
The Chief Minister also said he had not been accused of using religion to garner votes, as the petitioner had not provided the precise words or communications.
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