In a last-minute unexpected twist to the tale of actor-producer Vishal’s decision to contest the R.K. Nagar by-polls in Chennai, the Election Commission has rejected the nomination papers filed by him as well as Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa.

Citing ‘discrepancies’ in signatures in the papers, the EC rejected Vishal’s nomination, thus shocking him as he had filed his nomination with a purpose amid not much support from his industry colleagues and among film-makers. The rejection comes hardly a day after the actor-producer claimed that his nomination had been accepted by the polling officers.

Taking to his Twitter account, Vishal expressed his disappointment at the rejection of his nomination papers by the Election Commission. “It is disheartening to hear that the nomination made by me was initially accepted and was later declared as invalid after I left,” Vishal tweeted    captioning ‘Democracy at its lowest low!’.

EC has also tossed out the nomination filed by Deepa, niece of the former Tamil Nadu chief-minister J. Jayalalithaa, citing inconsistency in her papers.