The temperature rose several notches during the MIC Kapar division elections yesterday which saw disgruntled members locking horns, resulting in the ballot boxes being carted away.

According to a source, the 'misunderstanding' erupted between the factions led by acting chief T Ganesan and former division vice-president B Kalaiarasan who was contesting for the chairperson post.

The source said the division's former secretary S Chandramohan had opposed to the results being announced, citing that the elections were tainted by money politics.

"Chandramhohan is aligned to Kalaiarasan," claimed the source, who added: "The objection paved the way for heated arguments and debates on the matter."

Among the allegations raised, was that four branch leaders were purportedly given RM5,000 each.

Following this, the source said returning officer NS Krishnan ruled that the five ballot boxes be brought to the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for the count.

"The ballot boxes were then taken away in a vehicle by several men aligned to Chandramohan and remain unaccounted for," added the source.

Contacted today, Kalairasan denied that Chandramohan had taken the boxes.

"I was at home (during the incident), Chandramohan did not take it, there were some 200 people at the place during the incident," he said.

He also claimed that out of the 133 delegates who voted yesterday, 34 were related to Ganesan.

"I will be lodging a complaint with the MIC headquarters over this," he added.

However, Ganesan dismissed the allegations as nonsense.

"The counting is over, they cannot accept defeat. MIC is united," he said when contacted.

Democracy at work

Yesterday, some 50 MIC divisions held their meetings and elections in conforming to the MIC constitution.

samy vellu exclusive on tamil schools 080708 06 In a statement today, MIC president S Samy Vellu said he is happy that the divisional meetings and elections went on smoothly except for some small incidents involving one or two divisions.

"These are the fundamentals of democracy. It shows that democracy is at work. It is indeed a positive sign for the party having existed for more than 62 years.

"MIC is evolving into a much stronger party as evident from the results of the divisional elections," he added.

Overall, he said members of the MIC divisions displayed a high spirit and exercised their democratic rights as enshrined in the MIC constitution.

"They want the party to move ahead and prepare for the next general election. This is indeed very healthy and proved that the MIC is still very much relevant to the Indian community.

"MIC continues to be a stable, strong and a party that is based on democratic principles. Our strength is reflected through the more than 630,000 members and 3,700 branches nationwide.

"MIC will continue to strive for the betterment of the Indian community," he added.