EC to review poll arrangements in TN on April 12

Chennai, April 10: The

will review the arrangements made for 39 Lok Sabha seats in

going to polls on April 24 at a high level meeting convened here on April 12, a top official said.

"The EC will hold meeting with recognised political parties individually; then with District Collectors and SPs, besides top officials of the state government including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and Director General of Police on April 12," State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Kumar said. Authorities have so far seized Rs 34.60 crore cash and non-cash material in various parts of the state.

More women voters are set to cast their ballots in Tamil Nadu this year

The number of voters in Tamil Nadu stood at over 5.50 crore with women voters outnumbering their male counterparts by a little over 3000. On money distribution, Kumar said that compared to 2011 Assembly elections in the state, this time the EC is targeting more on the demand side, i.e; the voters, and has launched a series of awareness campaigns in this regard. Some cases have also been filed "but we don't want such a situation" of voters accepting money, he said.

"So ethical voting is our main campaign," he added. He said the state government has been asked to ensure proper power supply on polling date, April 24, at all the polling booths. Adequate security measures will be in place at the strong rooms where EVMs will be stored till the counting day on May 16 and they would be guarded by central and state police forces even as these facilities will be monitored over camera round-the-clock, he said.

PTI