CHENNAI: A total of 30,000 more polling booths will be set up in the State for the upcoming Assembly elections and the number of workers on poll duty will be increased to four lakh from usual three lakh. This is being done to avoid long queues, and thereby, prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told reporters at the Secretariat on Monday.
No decision has been taken to conduct the election in two phases and no recommendation has been made in this regard, the CEO added. The clarification comes in the backdrop of various media reports saying that the Election Commission had decided to conduct the election in two phases owing to the pandemic. The final electoral rolls will be released as per schedule, on January 20, Sahoo said.
Construction of warehouses to store EVMs and VVPATs have been completed in six districts such as Dharmapuri, Namakkal, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Villupuram and Theni. Construction of warehouses in the remaining 31 districts are underway and will get ready in a phased manner before March 31, Sahoo added.