Vaithilingam G.

There appears to be a critical identity mismatch between the affidavit data and web search results. The affidavit presents Vaithilingam G., age 52, a 12th pass candidate from Pattali Makkal Katchi contesting from Jayankondam. However, web sources consistently describe R. Vaithilingam, age 71 (born January 14, 1955), a veteran politician who has never been associated with PMK and never contested from Jayankondam constituency. The web search candidate had a significant political career entirely with AIADMK, serving as MLA from Orathanad constituency for three consecutive terms (2001, 2006, 2011) and holding ministerial positions including Forest & Environment (2001-2006) and Housing & Urban Development (2011-2016). He was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha in June 2016. However, his career has been severely tarnished by corruption allegations: he faces charges of accepting a ₹27.9 crore bribe from Shriram Properties in 2016 when he was Housing Minister and CMDA Chairman. Both the Enforcement Directorate and Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption have filed chargesheets against him and his sons in connection with money laundering and corruption. Politically, he was expelled from AIADMK in July 2022 for 'anti-party activities' along with O. Panneerselvam, and subsequently joined DMK in January 2026, drawing criticism about 'washing machine politics.' The affidavit declares only one minor criminal case with charges of unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, and criminal trespass, completely omitting the serious economic offenses documented in media reports. Voters should be aware that the identity confusion between affidavit and web data makes it impossible to definitively assess this candidate's true background and credentials. If this is indeed the same person as R. Vaithilingam, the serious corruption allegations and significant discrepancies in criminal case reporting raise major transparency concerns. If these are two different individuals sharing similar names, voters deserve clarity on which candidate is actually contesting from Jayankondam on a PMK ticket.