Over 4,100 candidates were in the fray for the April 6 Assembly election as of 9.30 p.m. on Monday, the last date for withdrawal of nominations. Karur has the highest number of contestants, 84, followed by Kangeyam and Aravakurichi with 50 and 40 candidates respectively. Valparai has only six candidates.
As of Monday evening, 124 constituencies have 16 or less candidates, meaning these constituencies will have one EVM for voters. An EVM can accommodate 16 candidates (excluding NOTA). Multiple EVMs will be made available in constituencies with over 16 contestants. With 84 candidates in the fray, Karur is likely to have six EVMs and Kangeyam and Aravakurichi are expected to have four and three EVMs respectively. The electorate in Kolathur and Manachanallur will have two EVMs as these constituencies have 37 and 36 candidates respectively.
A total of 7,255 nominations were received, of which over 4,400 were accepted and over 2,700 rejected. Over 300 nominations were withdrawn. In the Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha constituency, where a byelection will be held on April 6, 10 of the 23 nominations were rejected and the rest accepted. At a press conference here, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said everything was going as per plan, and the Election Commission was in touch with the Health Department on COVID-19.
“We are following whatever standard operating procedures they are asking us to follow or asking the public to follow... the election will be held,” he said.
Asked about violations of the COVID-19 norms, he said, “The government is very strict... District Election Officials, along with the local police, are ensuring that those who are not wearing masks are fined. It is not the role of the Election Commission; it is the State government’s role. The Election Commission is continuously watching the developments in the State about the preparedness.”
Of the 12.87 lakh voters who are aged above 80, 12 D forms for casting postal ballots have been received by the returning officers from 1,49,567 persons. Of the 4.81 lakh differently abled persons, 12 D forms have been received from 45,397 persons. None with COVID-19 has sought postal ballot, Mr. Sahoo said.
He said 6,29,43,512 persons are on the rolls, including 3,19,40,880 women and 7,194 members of the third gender. So far, cash, liquor, gold and other articles, all worth ₹231.63 crore, have been seized by surveillance officials.
A total of 1,971 complaints were received through the cVIGIL application. Of them, 1,368 were found to be correct and action was being taken on them. In all, 2,122 complaints of violations of the model code have been received.
The Returning Officers have received over 14,000 applications for permission for public meetings, vehicles and others. Of them, 6,598 applications have been cleared and over 4,200 were being processed. Over 8,100 persons have been taken into preventive detention under Sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Over 18,700 licensed arms have been deposited.
