Photo : IANSChennai: In a major embarrassment for Chief Minister MK Stalin, the Returning Officer of T Kallupattti Town Panchayat in Madurai district had admitted to tampering with the results of the TN urban local body polls and declaring DMK candidate R Subbulakshmi as the winner because of “immense pressure” exerted on him by the ruling party workers in Tamil Nadu.The poll panel official made the startling disclosure before the Madras High Court.After the TN urban local body election results were announced, R Palaniselvi, an Independent candidate, filed a petition before the high court stating that the results were tampered with to favour the DMK candidate.In her PIL, she contended that her rival DMK candidate had secured the same number of votes in T Kallupatti panchayat election. Notably, according to the rules, the winner should be chosen through a draw of lots in case of a tie. But in this case, the Returning poll officer declared Subbulakshmi as the winner.Related NewsPrashant Kishor’s ex-aide Sunil Kanugolu joins Congress, will help party with 2023 Karnataka pollsTelangana CM likely to rope in Prashant Kishor for state polls; meeting in Hyderabad sparks tie-up buzzThe HC bench comprising Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy asked the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) to submit the video footage of the counting process.The TNSEC submitted the footage before the court and it was proved that the Independent candidate had won the draw of lots.The Madras HC bench directed the TNSEC to declare R Palaniselvi as the winner from Kallupattti.Related NewsTamil Nadu eases COVID-19 curbs; allows more people in weddings, funeralsThe CJ and Justice Chakravarthy asked the poll officer to appear before and claimed that he was pressurised to change the election result. The officer was suspended by the court.The TN urban local body polls were held on February 19, 2022. The DMK registered an emphatic win in the Tamil Nadu urban local bodies polls. The ruling art secured 43.13 per cent of the votes, the AIADMK got 25.15 per cent while the BJP secured 5.41 per cent.