The President has cancelled the Lok Sabha elections in the parliamentary constituency of Vellore, Tamil Nadu, based on the Election Commission’s recommendations. The EC had made its recommendation on the basis of a “highly damaging” report by the Income Tax department on the abuse of money power. Vellore was scheduled to go to the polls on Thursday, April 18, in Phase 2 of polling.

Last week, over Rs 11 crore was seized from a cement godown. The money was found to belong to a local Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam functionary. The News Minute reports: “The officials of the Income Tax department conducted searches in the house of DMK Treasurer Duraimurugan in the wee hours of March 30 and then had conducted searches in the cement godown on April 1. The search was conducted based on the information given by the District Electoral Officer of Vellore … An FIR was registered against Duraimurugan’s son DM Kathir Anand on April 8 and two of his team members. Kathir is contesting in the Lok Sabha polls from Vellore on a DMK ticket.”

Once contacted by the EC, the President asked the Law Ministry for its opinion, based on which he agreed to cancel Thursday’s elections.