Tamil Nadu had earned notoriety for the practice of cash-for-votes by political parties. This was reported even in US diplomatic cables, as accessed by WikiLeaks. ‘Bribes from political parties to voters, in the form of cash, goods or services, are a regular feature of elections in south India,’ one cable noted. Another cable spoke about a particular Union minister’s winning formula. It quoted a confidante of the leader as saying that the minister was paying up to 5, 000 ($81) per voter in Thirumangalam, Madurai district of Tamil Nadu (January 2009 bye-elections). Over the years, the vicious
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