Chidambaram's election challenged by rival in court

Chennai: The election of Home Minister P Chidambaram from the Sivaganga constituency to the Lok Sabha was challenged by his closest rival, Raja Kannappan of AIADMK, in the Madras High Court on Thursday.

In a petition filed with the registrar of the Madras High Court, Kannappan has urged that Chidambaram's election should be declared void and the votes should be counted again.

In the close contest in the Sivaganga constituency of Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram polled 334,348 votes, while Kannappan got 330,994 votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections. DMDK candidate Barwatha Papa got only 60,084 votes.

Kannappan in his petition has said that around 1,400 votes polled in his favour in Alangudi district were credited to Chidambaram.

He has also said that in the final stages of counting on May 16, officials involved in the process had indulged in malpractices.

Despite repeated attempts by IANS, Kannappan was not available for comments.

Chidambaram's son Karti P Chidambaram told IANS: "It is normal for people who lose elections to file case against people who win."