*NEW DELHI: *Indian election authorities have cancelled voting in asouthern region of the country after seizing more than 110 million rupees($1.5 million) they believe was meant to influence the outcome, officialssaid Wednesday.
It is the first time a ballot has been cancelled in a national electionover attempted vote-buying, officials said.
The decision comes as Indians vote in a mammoth national election beingheld over several phases, the next of which begins Thursday.
But voters in the Vellore constituency in coastal Tamil Nadu state will notbe going to the polls as scheduled after the Election Commission of Indiaruled there were fears of a “systematic design to influence voters”.
The ruling came after authorities seized more than 110 million rupees froma candidate in the run-up to the vote.
The commission said late Tuesday that the environment in Vellore was nolonger conducive to “free and ethical” elections.
No fresh date has been announced for polling in the constituency.
Nearly 100 constituencies in 13 states go to the polls Thursday in thesecond round of the seven-phase election that began on April 11.
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Almost 900 million voters are eligible to cast their votes to elect 543members to the lower house of the parliament, with results expected onMay 23.
Attempts to secure votes in return for cash, liquor, electronic gadgets andeven 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 worth 3billion rupees have been seized in the state since the poll dates wereannounced on March 10.
Elsewhere in the country, polls have been delayed by five days in parts ofthe northeastern state of Tripura over security fears.
Polls will be held there on April 23 instead of Thursday.
And in the country’s east, Bangladeshi star actor Ferdous Ahmed has beenforced to leave India after he was discovered campaigning for a candidatefrom the opposition Congress party, officials at the Bangladesh HighCommission in Kolkata said. – APP/AFP
