CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner and District Election Officer, J Kumaragurubaran, was ambitious, setting a goal of 80% voter turnout in Chennai.
Speaking after an all-party meeting at Ripon Building, Kumaragurubaran said the city, which recorded around 60 per cent turnout in the last two Assembly polls, is expected to see participation rise to 75–80 per cent this time.
The final electoral roll stands at 28,30,936 voters, down from 40,04,694 earlier after the SIR exercise. If the turnout touches 80 per cent, around 22.6 lakh voters are likely to cast their ballots.
Chennai has 4,085 polling booths across 16 Assembly constituencies, including 785 sensitive booths in 178 locations, which will be monitored by armed personnel.
To enforce the Model Code of Conduct, which came into effect after the Election Commission announced polling on April 23, several monitoring teams have been deployed. These include 48 Static Surveillance Teams, 32 Video Surveillance Teams, 16 Video Viewing Teams, and Flying Squads operating in shifts. Additionally, 375 sector officer teams comprising police and election officials will oversee EVM management and polling logistics.
About 13,634 EVMs and 6,349 control units have been checked and kept ready. A 24x7 control room has been set up at Ripon Building, and complaints can be lodged through the toll-free number 1800-425-7012.
At the meeting, BJP representative Karate Thiagarajan sought clarity on the Rs 50,000 cash limit and liquor shop timings, while DMK representative K Chandru urged the poll body to reduce the party booth distance from 200 m to 100 m and speed up approvals for public meetings.
Counting will be held at Queen Mary’s College, Loyola College and Anna University (Guindy campus) for the city’s 16 Assembly constituencies.