{
  "id": 3744862,
  "title": "Alleged use of children in election campaign not a ground to set aside victory, CM Vijay tells Madras High Court",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/alleged-use-of-children-in-election-campaign-not-a-ground-to-set",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T13:34:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/alleged-use-of-children-in-election-campaign-not-a-ground-to-set-aside-victory-cm-vijay-tells-madras-high-court/article71396129.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "The Chief Minister, Vijay, has told the Madras High Court that the alleged use of children in an election campaign is not a ground to set aside his victory. This was in response to an election petition filed by DMK's Inigo Irudayaraj, who challenged Vijay's win from the Tiruchi East Assembly constituency, according to The Hindu.\n\nNo further details were provided about the election petition or the alleged use of children in the campaign.\n\nThe context of the case does not appear to relate to a separate case reported in Borneo Post Online about a man whose convictions and sentences for sexually assaulting children were set aside by the High Court.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Borneo Post Online",
        "title": "High Court orders retrial for man convicted of sexually assaulting 3 children in Sibu",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/high-court-orders-retrial-for-man-convicted-of-sexually-assaulting-3",
        "published": "2026-08-27T12:54:58.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}