KARUR: With 79 candidates, including 71 independents in the fray in Karur Assembly constituency, all 283 polling stations in the constituency will have five EVMs each along with a VVPAT and a control unit. This might require voters, particularly the aged and the illiterate, to spend a little more time than the others to locate their preferred candidate and vote.
Election tahsildar Mohanraj said each EVM can accommodate 15 symbols along with one slot for NOTA. “Each EVM can have only 16 slots. So, five ballot units are required at each polling station in the constituency,” he said.
Officials said this is the highest number of candidates contesting in the state. The previous high includes 77 candidates in Karur in 2021 Assembly poll and 63 in Aravakuruchi bypoll in 2019.
On May 4, election staff will have to verify and count votes from all the five units, which may extend the duration of counting like it did in 2021, a booth agent from a major party recalled.