A BJP booth committee member on Saturday objected to a woman voter who arrived at a polling booth in Madurai while wearing a hijab to cast her vote for the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Body Elections.
BJP member then asked the woman to take off the hijab. The members of the ruling DMK and AIADMK objected to him after which the Police had to intervene.
The man was later asked to leave the booth.
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After a BJP booth committee member objected to a hijab-clad woman voter, DMK MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin took a dig at the saffron party saying that it has always been doing this. "We are completely against it. People of Tamil Nadu know whom to select and whom to reject. People of Tamil Nadu will never accept it," Times Now quoted him as saying.
The Urban Local Body election in Tamil Nadu is underway on Saturday for 12,607 posts in 21 corporations, 138 municipalities, and 490 town panchayats but voting in Chennai is being held after a gap of 11 years.
The voting for the urban local body elections is being held in a single phase. In October 2016, the elections were scheduled but were postponed in the wake of the Madras High Court's direction. Subsequently, a host of developments, political and administrative, contributed to the delay.
The voting began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.
According to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC), voters having COVID-19 symptoms and those who have been infected will be allowed to vote between 5 pm to 6 pm.
There are 57,778 candidates contesting for 12,607 posts. A total of 31,150 polling booths are there and nearly lakh police personnel have been deployed for security.
There are 5,960 sensitive booths in today's election.
Major political parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Naam Tamilar Katchi, Pattali Makkal Katchi, Makkal Needhi Maiam and Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam, are participating in the polls for 21 corporations, 138 municipalities and 490 town panchayats.
The counting of votes will take place on February 22.
With ANI Inputs
