Arrangements are in place at the 238 polling booths, including 32 vulnerable booths, for the smooth conduct of the byelection to the Erode (East) Assembly constituency on Monday.
Polling will start at 7 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. in which 2,26,898 electors are eligible to exercise their franchise. A total of 77 candidates are in the fray.
The prominent among them are E.V.K.S. Elangovan of the Congress, K.S. Thennarasu of the AIADMK, Menaka Navaneethan of the Naam Tamilar Katchi and S. Anand of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam.
A total of 1,430 ballot units, 286 control units and 310 voter verifiable paper audit trials (VVPATs) were kept ready at the booths where mock polling will be held from 5.30 a.m. in the presence of booth agents.
A total of 286 presiding officers, 858 polling officers and 62 additional officers will be on duty. Besides, 286 micro-observers will monitor polling, which will also be webcast.
Since 77 candidates are contesting, each booth will have five ballot units, one VVPAT and one control unit. Shamiyanas have been erected at all the booths for the voters to stand clear of the hot sun.
On Sunday morning, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), VVPATs and 81 other election materials were dispatched to the booths amid tight security in vehicles fitted with the GPS. The materials were received by the presiding officers at each booth.
District Election Officer and Collector H. Krishnanunni told the media that steps had been taken for a free and fair election. Asked about the action taken in respect of violations of model code of conduct, he said 796 complaints had been received and, after inquiries, cases had been filed. He said 10 static surveillance teams (SSTs) on each shift were monitoring violations and people could also file complaints of violations.
Mr. Krishnanunni said multiple layers of checking would be in place at the booths and the Absentee, Shift and Dead (ASD) voters list would be maintained by the presiding officer to prevent bogus voting.
He said all voters should carry their voter information slips with any of the 12 documents for the purpose of identification, including Electors Photo Identity Card, Aadhaar card, PAN card or driver’s licence.
After polling, the EVMs will be taken to the counting centre at Government College of Engineering (formerly IRTT) at Chithode, and kept in strong rooms and sealed. Counting of votes will take place on March 2. “Three tier-security will be in place at the counting centre,” the Collector said.
