CHENNAI: After weeks of high-intensity campaign, 5.67 crore voters across Tamil Nadu will cast their ballots to decide the fate of 4,654 candidates for 234 seats on Thursday (today). The election for the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has turned into a three-cornered contest involving the DMK-led alliance, the AIADMK-BJP coalition, and actor Vijay’s newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
Chief Minister MK Stalin is seeking a second term by framing the election as a pivotal struggle for state autonomy against an authoritarian centre, while AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami has teamed up with BJP to pitch the benefits of a “double-engine government” for the state’s growth. Actor-politician Vijay has emerged as the dark horse, banking on youth mobilisation and presenting himself as a transformative alternative to the traditional power blocs.
A notable 14,59,039 first-time voters are expected to play a critical role, with many young people showing strong enthusiasm to vote. With around 74 lakh names deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the turnout may rise due to a reduced electorate base, though the actual participation levels will determine the final outcome.
When asked about her expectations regarding the voter turnout, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, addressing a press conference at the state secretariat on Wednesday, said, ‘highest ever’. The CEO said there are 5,949 sensitive polling booths in 3,025 locations across the state.
She said that 3,60,068 polling personnel have been engaged for the election, and 300 companies of CAPF have also been deployed to ensure free and fair elections. Besides, 83,875 police personnel are also on election duty. Counting will take place at 62 centre.
In response to a question, the CEO said that 4.18 lakh postal ballots have been received so far. As for social media posts, 243 rebuttals and clarifications have been issued, and 163 FIRs have been lodged. She said 2,118 URLs have been blocked by the social media monitoring team in response to complaints.
There are 249 model polling stations in the state. Of them, 325 are all-women-managed polling stations; 71 are PwD-managed polling stations; 79 are youth-managed polling stations. Green polling stations are being piloted in certain districts.
The CEO also said that so far, the total value of goods and cash seized stood at `1,262 crore, of which `543 crore was in cash. As far as the election-related complaints are concerned, through the CVigil app, 5,634 complaints have been received.
TN’s bid to wipe out old transactions to claim land not justified: SC
The verdict also said that the committee headed by former judge KP Sivasubramaniam has four months to conclude its report, followed by two months for the state cabinet to take a final decision.
The Madras HC had initially allowed the TN government to conduct a “discreet inquiry”, the state moved the Supreme Court in 2019, securing a status-quo order. The state government initiated an inquiry in 2019 through a government order, but the process remained inconclusive despite multiple reports submitted between 2020 and 2021.
To preserve the land during an investigation, the state government effectively blocked hundreds of homeowners from registering their properties and prevented the provision of basic utilities like water and sewerage.
The SC Bench comprising of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran on Wednesday said, “It is not open to a professed welfare state to seek to turn back the clock after several decades and attempt to undo what was done long ago.
All the more so, when much water was allowed to flow under the bridge, whereby third-party rights have been created, involving innocent citizens who have spent their hard-earned monies in the hope of having a roof of their own over their heads.” It added that the government would not be justified in seeking to wipe out transactions that are decades-old, so as to claim title over land that is now in the possession of innocent citizens