CHENNAI: With counting of votes for the April 6 Assembly elections scheduled on May 2, monitoring of strong rooms that house the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units have been keeping political party cadre on their toes. With three-tier security arrangements, the EVMs are guarded by Central forces round the clock.
In addition, representatives of contestants also carry out vigilance for strong rooms. EVMs and VVPATs for 16 constituencies in Chennai are stored at Loyola College, Anna University, and Queen Mary’s College. Spot visit by Express revealed that DMK and AIADMK candidates have deployed three persons a day for each constituency on shift basis. The shift timings are fixed as follows: 6 am to 2 pm, 2 pm to 10 pm, and 10 pm to 6 am.
The agents would be most trusted local functionaries or their relatives. Interestingly, candidates from actor Kamal Hassan’s MNM deploy two persons a day, while NTK, AMMK, and DMDK candidates have not engaged their men. A tent was set up with plastic chairs for 20 to 25 persons. The representatives were allowed to monitor the visuals of CCTV cameras installed at various locations through electronic screens near the tent.
At Loyola College, six to seven AIADMK representatives monitor the strong rooms, while more than ten DMK cadre are involved in vigilance. The college houses the EVMs and VVPATs of Kolathur, Perambur, Villivakkam, Egmore, Thousand Lights, and Anna Nagar constituencies.
“In view of possible scuffles at counting centres, DMK candidates have fielded three to four of their close confidants as independents in every constituency. Thus, apart from representatives of the DMK candidates, the party’s functionaries are also involved in vigilance duty as nominees of independent candidates,” said M Alexandar, MNM representative at Loyola College. The persons deployed by AIADMK and DMK say that they watch the CCTV footage and vehicle movements in the area. The nominees are allowed to use mobile phones for making phone calls.
VN Babu of DMK from Thousand Lights, said, “Power supply for the strong room, where the EVMs and VVPATs are stored had been disconnected and there were no CCTV cameras there. But the visuals of the surveillance cameras that are installed at entry and exit points for strong rooms, steps, and other places in the campus can be monitored through the screen. The presence of Central forces can also be seen in the visuals.” However, the agents pointed out that they closely monitor the entry of unauthorised persons and vehicles into the campus.
“So, we are told water tanks are filled through trucks outsourced from the Metro Water. We check the movement of trucks in person and supervise the works till the trucks leave the campuses,” said a DMK nominee for Anna Nagar. He added that they also question the entry of any unauthorised persons near the strong rooms.” Interestingly, AIADMK and DMK contestants also pay visits to the counting centres on a daily basis.
Counting centres and constituencies in Chennai and its suburbs