The Chennai District Election Office is gearing for the byelection to the Dr.Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly Constituency. The Election Commission is expected to announce the date of the byelection on Friday.
The Assembly constituency fell vacant following the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on December 5.
As the Model Code of Conduct is expected to come into force by afternoon, several government events organised for the distribution of welfare measures have been advanced, with officials planning to conduct them before noon on Friday.
After the Model Code of Conduct comes into force, the Chennai Corporation officials will not commence any civic infrastructure work.
On Thursday, District Election Office officials scrambled to ensure all processes relating to the conduct of byelections to the R.K. Nagar Assembly constituency are in place.
Inclusion of names
The number of electors on the rolls in the constituency is 2.56 lakh. Even after deletion of 45,819 names, the number of electors is not likely to reduce significantly because of the “ongoing process” of inclusion of names of the rolls. The District Election Office is receiving many applications for inclusion of names of electors who have shifted to new localities within the constituency. As a result, more than 20,000 names will actually be added to the rolls in a few days following requests from residents, officials said. The process of inclusion of names is under way and would be completed only 10 days ahead of the withdrawal of nominations for the Assembly by-election, said an official.
Vulnerable stations
During the last elections, as many as 29 polling stations were declared vulnerable to electoral offences.
Officials are compiling reports of violations in the constituency recorded during the previous election to conduct a study as more polling stations are likely to be declared vulnerable to electoral offences.
All the 256 polling stations in the constituency will use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) for the by-election, said an official. The byelection to the constituency will be keenly watched by observers as it will not only test the popularity of the ruling faction of the AIADMK but also the extent of support that the opposition parties enjoy given the political vacuum created after the demise of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
