Chennai: For the first time in its history, Tamil Nadu will have six women mayors and 62 municipal chairpersons from this October.
The State Election Commission is yet to notify the poll date. However, the commission, in a government order, said that the elections to Panchayats, Town Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations shall be for 10 hours between 7 am and 5 pm on the day notified for the poll.
Municipalities including Ranipet, Sirkazhi, Thiruthuraipoondi, Valparai, Udagamandalam, Sankarankoil, Per-nampet, Coonoor and Peramabalur have been reserved for scheduled caste women, while Gudalur municipality in Nilgiris will have a tribal woman as its chairperson, said a GO.
The state government is to spend around Rs 80 crore for the election process and has already passed orders designating district collectors as district election officers and the revenue officer as returning officers.
For electoral wards coming under corporation and municipalities, engineers associated with the local bodies will be the presiding officers. Electronic voting machines will be used in the polls for 12 corporations and also in municipalities in all urban pockets. Ballot papers used for panchayats will be stitched into bundles of 50 with consecutive serial numbers. According to official sources Coimbatore, Vellore, Thanjavur and Tuticorin corporations are to get women mayors.
