Coimbatore: A flying squad team, led by election officer M Mangalasathya, searched a house on Kuppanna Street at Pappa Naicken Palayam on Saturday, and seized 46 ‘gift tokens’ meant for distribution by AIADMK cadres to voters in the Singanallur assembly constituency.The team searched the house following a tip-off to the district collectorate’s control room. A detailed list of voters and notebooks containing personal data of residents were also seized during the search. The Race Course police have registered a case against AIADMK cadres. Just days prior, a similar case was registered against DMK cadres near Ram Nagar. Officials there found evidence of the party printing and circulating the Rs 8,000 “gift vouchers” to households. “This has become a new trend in cash distribution,” said an election official on the condition of anonymity. “By using tokens instead of liquid cash, they attempt to bypass immediate seizure during transit. It’s a logistical evolution of the Thirumangalam Formula.”
