CHENNAI: With the Election Commission of India announcing the date for the assembly election, district election officer cum Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran, on Monday, chaired a consultation meeting with the representatives of recognised political parties on the model code of conduct that came into effect on March 15.
Around 16,500 polling officers will be deployed for election duty in the district, and training will be imparted to them constituency-wise. A total of 375 sector officers have been appointed and monitoring teams, including 48 flying squad teams to check MCC violations and 48 static surveillance teams for vehicle checks and to prevent illegal movement of cash and goods, have been constituted. Candidates can spend up to Rs 40 lakh on election campaigns, for which permission has to be sought 48 hours prior.
A control room has been set up at the district election office in Ripon Building. The public can report complaints through toll-free number 18004257012 or via the cVIGIL mobile application, and action will be taken within 100 minutes.
The counting of votes will be conducted at Queen Mary’s College for five constituencies, Loyola College for six constituencies, and Anna University, Guindy for another five constituencies.
Chennai district, comprising 16 assembly constituencies, has a total electorate of 28.30 lakh voters, including 13.65 lakh men, 14.64 lakh women and 829 third-gender voters. A total of 4,079 polling stations and six auxiliary polling stations have been established across 978 locations.
The filing of nominations will commence on March 30 and continue till April 6, while scrutiny will be held on April 7. The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is April 9. With the MCC in place, individuals can carry upto `50,000. Any amount beyond this must be supported by valid documents, failing which it may be seized by officials.