CHENNAI: After 11 years, Tamil Nadu will vote in elections for urban local bodies on Saturday. Polling will start at 7 am and people can vote till 6 pm, with the last one hour exclusively reserved for those infected with Covid-19.
About 57,770 candidates are in the fray for over 12,500 ward member posts in 21 corporations, 138 municipalities and 489 town panchayats across the State. Speaking to reporters on Friday, V Palanikumar, State Election Commissioner, said that of the 30,735 polling booths set up across TN, 5,960 were categorised as sensitive booths. “Polling in these booths will be web-streamed live and CCTV cameras are installed in 268 counting centres,” he said.
Rejecting the AIADMK’s allegations about outsiders staying in Coimbatore, Palanikumar said, “The collector has informed us that all outsiders have been evicted from the district. A total of 2,723 police personnel are deployed for security in Coimbatore. Commissioner of Land Administration S Nagarajan has been assigned as special election observer for Coimbatore.”
Palanikumar said voters cannot carry mobile phones inside the booths. Apart from Electoral Photo ID cards, voters can use 11 other documents as identity proof.
9 AIADMK MLAs held
Nine AIADMK MLAs of Coimbatore were arrested by police for protesting at the Coimbatore Collectorate on Friday. The protesters alleged that the ruling party was using people from other districts to distribute cash and gifts to voters