BOOTH capturing and wide spread rigging was unleashed across the state of Tamil Nadu on September 18 as the by-polls for local bodies including mayoral elections for Coimbatore and Thoothukudi cities were held. In Chennai city, polling was held for 35th ward of the corporation. Even though the ruling party had distributed Rs 200 cash for vote earlier, the voters did not turn out to the polling booths. Till 2 pm here, there was only 19 percent polling. Shocked to know this, the ruling party activists mobilised the professional rowdy elements in the entire 48 booths of the ward. The rowdies and the AIADMK cadres captured the booths and started rigging. Neither the police nor the election officials did anything to prevent them and instead allowed them to do their work freely. But the Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadres resisted the murder of democracy and they gathered in hundreds under the leadership of the Central Committee member of the Party A Soundararajan MLA, at the Kodungaiyur main Road and picketed. They demanded the cancellation of the election to Ward 35 and to conduct fresh and fair elections. In Coimbatore city, the AIADMK goons captured some booths in Siddha Pudhur area. On learning this, hundreds of CPI(M) cadres immediately organised a protest. Led by C Padmanaban, CPI(M) mayoral candidate, they resisted the AIADMK goons and prevented rigging in a booth. But, in some other booths, the ruling party persons executed their plan. Particularly in the booths 1033, 1034, 1035 and 1036 they totally captured and rigged freely. They also unleashed violence while the opposition party cadres resisted them. In Cuddalore, after 2 pm, ruling party goons freely roamed and captured some booths. The CPI(M) cadre led by the party candidate for the chairmanship of the town opposed them and there was a confrontation. In Madurai, polling was held for Ward 4 of the city corporation. Here AIADMK cadres tried to rig the polls in booth numbers 52, 53, 54, 55. But the cadres of CPI(M) strongly resisted them and prevented them from entering into the booths. Here, the police officials colluded with the ruling party persons and tried to attack the CPI(M) cadres. In Thoothukudi city as well as district panchayat, at many booths, the AIADMK persons freely rigged the polls. Everywhere across the state, the police and the officials of the election commission did not try to prevent rigging. And a general trend was, the voters did not turn up in a massive way, even though the entire team of the Jayalalithaa's government was fielded to 'woo' the voters across the state. Polling percentage was very low in several local bodies including in urban centres. In the absence of major opposition parties like the DMK in the by-polls, only the CPI(M) and CPI strongly opposed the AIADMK's attack on democracy. G Ramakrishnan, CPI(M) state secretary asked the state election commission to cancel the election in the booths where rigging was reported. On September 22, the results were announced. As expected, the results were 'favourable' to the AIADMK.