Chennai: Minor defects or discrepancies in the details provided in an election affidavit will not amount to non-disclosure and attract a trial in an election petition, Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay said on Tuesday while opposing a plea challenging his election from Perambur assembly constituency in the 2026 election.“Whether it is Rs 630 crore (total assets) or Rs 643 crore, I don’t think a voter is going to be swayed by that,“ Vijay said.“I have filled the form from top to bottom. Every aspect of it has been dealt with. Virtually 99% of all details are disclosed there including income, spousal income, assets, spousal assets, PAN numbers, income tax returns, criminal antecedents, everything is there. There may be some errors factually at some places, but it cannot invalidate my nomination,” he added.The submissions were made by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan on Tuesday on behalf of Vijay before Justice V Lakshminarayanan.The arguments were made on an election petition moved by S Dinesh, a voter from Perambur, challenging Vijay’s election on the ground that there were several discrepancies in the financial and property details disclosed by Vijay in his election affidavit.“Small things like my father was a director and producer in film industry and that he gifted one particular house to me. It is shown as inheritance instead of gift being given. Are these the points the petitioner claims that I had failed to disclose?”, the senior counsel wondered.The Representation of People Act requires the petitioner to plead the material facts as to how the improper acceptance of the nomination, which we will presume is an improper acceptance, has materially affected the result of the election, he said.“He has pleaded nothing in this regard, and therefore there is no cause of action for him to invoke at all. He has not satisfied the mandate of material facts being pleaded in this regard, and therefore on this hurdle itself he falls,” Gopal said.Recording the submissions, the court adjourned the hearing to Wednesday.
