- The Madras High Court found over Rs 100 crore irregularities in Vijay's election affidavits
- The court ordered the income tax department to respond to these findings
- Vijay had filed papers to contest the Tamil Nadu election from two seats - Trichy and Perambur
The Madras High Court has ordered the income tax department to respond to a petition that alleged a mismatch of over Rs 100 crore in the election affidavits of actor Vijay.
The high court's latest order comes as a setback for Vijay and his new party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which is fighting its first ever election in the state ruled by Chief Minister MK Stalin of the DMK.
Vijay had filed papers to contest the Tamil Nadu election from two seats - Trichy and Perambur. A voter from Perambur had gone to court and alleged a mismatch in Vjay's income in his affidavits for the two seats.
Vijay's papers filed for the Trichy seat showed an income of Rs 220 crore, while the affidavit for the other seat showed Rs 115 crore - a difference of Rs 105 crore.
The actor-turned-politician is likely to make his Tamil Nadu electoral debut into a three-way fight. In Tiruchirappalli East, Vijay is contesting against DMK's Inigo S Irudayaraj. In Perambur, he is up against DMK MLA RD Sekar.
Trichy East has a significant minority population, including a strong Christian presence with major churches. Irudhayaraj is facing a tough contest this time, despite Trichy being considered a DMK stronghold.
With Vijay, a split in minority votes is being anticipated. Alongside this, Dalit and majority Hindu votes are also expected to play a crucial role in what is shaping up to be a closely fought four-cornered contest.
Vijay's campaign has focussed mostly on Tamil Nadu's coastal belts including Ramanathapuram, underlining a focused strategy to consolidate minority and fisherfolk votes. His party also fielded candidates from the community in key constituencies, signalling intent to convert outreach into representation.
Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 23; counting is on May 4. The main contest is between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes the Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies.
