Chennai: The two-phased election to the local bodies on October 17 and 19 will see a total of 5.80 crore voters electing representatives for 1,31,794 posts. Of the state’s 5.80 crore voters, 2.88 crore of them are men and 2.92 crore are women.
The rural areas account for 3.19 crore voters including 1.59 crore men and 1.60 women, while the urban areas have 2.61 crore voters with women (1.32 crore) slightly higher than men (1.29 crore).
About 2,17,500 ballot boxes would be used for the rural areas while 75,933 electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be utilised in the urban areas, State Election Commissioner P. Seetharaman informed.
Announcing the schedule, he said during the first phase, elections would be held for 10 municipal corporations, 64 municipalities, 255 town panchayats and 193 panchayat unions. Two municipal corporations viz. Chennai and Dindigul, 60 municipalities and 273 town panchayat and 195 panchayat unions would go to the polls in the second phase, Mr Seetharaman told reporters here on Sunday evening.
Apart from deputing 37 election observers, the election commission would depute micro observers who are officials drawn from nationalised banks to oversee the conduct of the election in a free and fair manner. A total of 664 polling officers and 1,836 assistant polling officers in urban and 907 polling officers and 16,979 assistant polling officers for the rural areas have also been drafted for poll related work. In addition to putting in place sufficient security measures during the elections and polling process as well, the Commission would videograph the poll process, he said.
For the first time in rural local bodies, EVMs would be used in the Melpuram Panchayat Union in Kanyakumari district.
