When the counting of votes, the last and crucial phase in the 2016 general elections, begins at 8 a.m., the fate of 182 candidates including independents from 10 Assembly constituencies in the district would be known on Thursday.
The two institutions – Madurai Medical College and American College – which are under a three-tier security blanket since Monday would continue to be a sterile zone until Thursday evening, District Election Officer K. Veera Raghava Rao said.
The EVMs from all the 2,687 polling stations in the 10 Assembly constituencies in the district were brought in and kept locked at the two respective counting centres.
The counting of postal votes would be taken up simultaneously by as many as 741 staffs.
As per the Election Commission’s instructions, there would be 14 tables and each would have a micro observer, a supervisor and an assistant to monitor and declare the process from the respective constituency.
While the city police have made diversions in vehicle movement from 6 a.m. till evening, only authorised persons with valid passes issued to the candidates and their representatives would be allowed entry into the counting centres.
The polling officials said that votes of three Assembly constituencies – Madurai North, Tirupparankundram and Thirumangalam – would be counted at American College, while the votes polled in the rest of the seven constituencies would be counted at the Madurai Medical College.
Prominent among the candidates, who are testing their fortunes, include Madurai Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa, ministers Sellur K. Raju and R.B. Udayakumar from the AIADMK, former TN Assembly Speaker Palanivelrajan’s son P.T.R.P. Thiagarajan and Manimaran (son of Sedapatti Muthiah) of the DMK and U. Vasuki from the CPI (M).
