5 Crore Voters, 3 Lakh Officials: Tamil Nadu Gears Up For Key Polls

Tamil Nadu is witnessing a five-cornered contest: the ruling DMK seeking a second term; AIADMK aiming for a comeback after Jayalalithaa’s death; Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam aiming for a notable debut; Seeman of Naam Tamilar Katchi contesting alone; and S. Ramadoss aligning with expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala.

Counting will take place at 62 centres across the state after polling concludes.

A total of 5,634 complaints have been received through the cVIGIL app, with 17 currently pending, all within the stipulated time.

Voters for the first time will have a safe deposit system at polling centres to leave their mobile phones before casting their votes.

The Special Summary Revision exercise saw nearly 70 lakh names deleted from the electoral rolls.

To enhance voter experience and inclusivity, 249 model polling stations have been established, including booths entirely managed by women, persons with disabilities, and youth. A new category of green polling stations has also been introduced.

Security focus includes 3,025 locations covering 5,049 booths identified as sensitive. Authorities have established four levels of control rooms, a dedicated public helpline (1950), and separate monitoring systems for media and election processes.

Postal voting has seen substantial participation, with 418,541 votes received so far.

The electorate stands at 56,707,380 voters, including 28,960,838 women and 27,738,925 men, with women accounting for more than 50% of the voters. Over 1.45 million first-time voters are eligible to cast their ballots.

Tamil Nadu will vote on April 23. The Election Commission has rolled out arrangements on an unprecedented scale: 75,064 polling stations across 33,133 centres will cater to over 5.67 crore voters, manned by more than 3 lakh polling personnel, with over 8,300 police personnel on duty to ensure law and order.