CHENNAI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has barred former MLA Aasan Maulana from contesting parliamentary and state assembly elections for three years. The decision came after he failed to submit an accurate account of his election expenditure for the 2021 Assembly elections.According to an ECI notification dated August 28, Maulana had initially declared election expenditure of Rs 17 lakh. However, an investigation found an additional undeclared amount of Rs 32 lakh, taking his total expenditure to Rs 49 lakh. This was significantly higher than the maximum permissible spending limit of Rs 30 lakh at the time.The Commission said Maulana had failed to account for around Rs 30 lakh in his official records, in violation of the Representation of the People Act. It also emphasised that failure to submit genuine expenditure records undermines the integrity of the electoral process.Maulana was called for multiple hearings in January and February to explain the discrepancies but failed to appear before the election authorities. After concluding that he had deliberately withheld the true accounts and breached election law, the ECI disqualified him from contesting elections for three years.
