In connection with the case of illegal voting in the 2026 Legislative Assembly election, two persons, including an elderly woman, were arrested at the Madurai airport. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election took place on April 23. Following this, the election results were released on the May 4. In the results, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won the largest number of seats, and C. Joseph Vijay assumed office as the Chief Minister. As foul play was suspected following a few complaints, the Election Commission tipped off airport immigration officials to monitor and properly investigate Non-Resident Indians who had come to Tamil Nadu to vote when they returned abroad. Based on this, officials conducted inspections at airports including Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore, and Madurai, which revealed that 17 individuals holding foreign citizenship from countries like Sri Lanka, Canada, and Australia had voted illegally in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. They were arrested and interrogated. Accordingly, a couple hailing from the Thiruvadanai area was previously arrested at the Madurai Airport. Under these circumstances, Krishnasamy, 75, from Namakkal district arrived at the Madurai Airport to travel to Sri Lanka. When immigration officials verified his documents, it was revealed that he held Sri Lankan citizenship and was running a business there. The investigation uncovered that he had voted illegally in the recently concluded Legislative Assembly election. Similarly, Mary Jeno Fernando, 64, is the wife of Ramesh Fernando from Thoothukudi district. Although her husband and children reside in Thoothukudi district, Mary Jeno Fernando held Sri Lankan citizenship and lived there because her brother resided in Sri Lanka. The investigation revealed that she too had voted in the Legislative Assembly election. Following this, airport officials handed both of them over to the Avaniyapuram police. The police have arrested them and are conducting an investigation. Published - May 16, 2026 08:57 pm IST