INDIA: Voting was cancelled in a southern region of the country after the Indian election authorities seized more than 110 million rupees ($1.5 million) they believe were meant to influence the outcome, officials said on Wednesday.
Ballot has been cancelled for the first time in such an incident, officials said.
As the epic Indian elections continue in several phases – the next of which begins on Thursday – this decision was made.
But voters in the Vellore constituency in coastal Tamil Nadu state will not be going to the polls as scheduled after the Election Commission of India ruled there were fears of a “systematic design to influence voters”.
The ruling came after authorities seized more than 110 million rupees from a candidate in the run-up to the vote.
The commission later reported on Tuesday that the environment in Vellore was no longer conducive to “free and ethical” elections.
No fresh date is announced for polling in the constituency.
Nearly 100 constituencies in 13 states go to the polls on Thursday in the second round of the seven-phase election that began on April 11.
No fresh date is announced for polling in Vellore
Almost 900 million voters are eligible to cast their votes to elect 543 members to the lower house of the parliament, with results expected on May 23.
Attempts to secure votes in return for cash, liquor, electronic gadgets and even goats have been reported across Tamil Nadu in the run-up to voting.
More than 1.3 billion rupees ($18.7 million) and one ton of gold costing 3 billion rupees have been seized in the state since the poll dates were announced on March 10.
In rest of the country, polls have been delayed by five days in parts of the northeastern state of Tripura over security fears.
Polls have been postponed to April 23 instead of on the eighteenth.
And in the country’s east, Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed has been forced to leave India after it was discovered that he was campaigning for a candidate from the opposition Congress party, report officials at the Bangladesh High Commission, Kolkata.