As the polling date for the Lok Sabha election draws near, the three-day process to train 19,396 polling officers for the 3,726 booths in the three Parliamentary constituencies of the Chennai district began at 16 centres on Sunday, March 24.
Chennai District Electoral Officer and Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner (GCC) J. Radhakrishnan visited the training centres in Thiruvanmiyur, Nungambakkam, Saidapet, and Egmore on Sunday. In these sessions, the workings of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines were explained.
According to a few personnel at a training centre in Chennai Central, their names did not figure in the poll duty allocation list. The instructors asked them to register their names and either wait or leave for the day. The personnel said they had attended the training in Theni district in 2021, ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, and the situation was the same then too.
The deputy tahsildar assigned to monitor the process in the centre said the personnel were instructed to stay back. “A total of 1,220 can be trained at one centre, but over 1,500 arrived here. So, a few adjustments were to be made. They will all be provided training within the three days,” she said.
A senior GCC official said: “The requirement is roughly 17,000 personnel for polling and 2,000 as reserve. Apart from this, in the Chennai district, 2,000 more are being trained. Sometimes, neighbouring districts will have a shortfall, and these personnel may be assigned there.”
The official added that at present, randomisation of allotment was only based on designation and not constituency.
“Data entry is made in all the centres. Further, there is a singular system managing this process, hence few a slip-ups may happen, which will be looked into and rectified,” the official said.
| Total polling station in Chennai District | 3719+7 (auxiliary) = 3726 |
| 3726 + 20% (Reserve) | 4471 |
| Of this - Polling officer (PO), PO1, PO2, PO3 | 17884 |
| PO4 | 1512 |
| Total requirements | 19396 |
| Number of personnel to be trained in each of the 16 centres | 1220 |
