TIRUCHY: With major parties achieving near-total booth coverage and new entrants scrambling to match scale, Tiruchy’s electoral battle is set to be decided as much by ground-level machinery as by campaign optics.
Months before the polling schedule was announced, the two Dravidian majors started to put in place a robust booth-level mechanism, training agents (BLAs) workshops and video modules on voter verification, roll checking and polling procedures. Booth-wise voter lists, photocopied records and stationery kits have been distributed, while internal monitoring systems are ready to track turnout through the day.
A senior DMK functionary said the party conducted “mandal-level mega conferences” to train cadres, as per instructions of party chief MK Stalin.
A booth agent, A Raja, said the party’s role in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls had given it a granular understanding of voters. “We know who was added and deleted, and in many booths we have a fair sense of voting patterns,” he said.
From the AIADMK camp, M Aravindan, a functionary from Malaikottai said coordination with the BJP and data from past elections helped booth agents identify weak-performing wards and plug gaps.
In contrast, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s booth network draws significantly from experienced hands, with nearly 60% of agents having previously worked with other parties, while the rest were trained over the past few months through structured sessions and a refresher workshop held a week before polling. The party has also set up a central war room to coordinate operations, escalate issues to headquarters and provide legal assistance where required.
“We may be new, but our teams have been trained in the entire polling process from verifying electoral rolls to handling machines and completing documentation till submission to the BLA-1. The war room will ensure quick response to any issues on polling day,” a functionary said.