CHENNAI: Following the tense situation which prevailed during the filing of nominations for the Chennai north constituency, the District Election Officer J Radhakrishnan has sought a report from the returning officer regarding the incident. The nomination process was delayed for two hours on Monday as members of the DMK and AIADMK engaged in a verbal spat over who would file the nomination papers first.
While responding to a question about the incident J Radhakrishan said, “I am aware of the incident. We are unsure if the model code is violated by the parties or if there were any shortcomings in arrangement. The returning officer will file a report on the incident.”
The DEO also inspected the central warehouse in Chintadripet. The EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were dispatched from the warehouse to the strong rooms in the assembly constituencies in the presence of the representatives of the political parties. A total of 4,469 ballot units 4,469 control units and 4,842 VVPAT units were dispatched on Monday.
“The strong rooms in all constituencies are video-monitored by the officials and political party representatives. A total of Rs 2.35 crore cash, 8,046 grams of gold worth RS 5.32 crore, and 12 iPhones worth Rs 15 lakh were seized till Tuesday. In addition to the expenditure observers, monitoring officers and police officers were appointed by the EC to oversee the election process,” he said.