CHENNAI: With political parties finalising candidates and manifestos, the process of filing nominations for the Assembly elections scheduled on April 23 will commence on Monday (March 30).
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), nomination filing will begin at 11 am and continue until April 6, while the counting of votes will take place on May 4, with results to be declared the same day.
However, due to holidays, nominations can be filed only on March 30 (Monday), April 2 (Wednesday), April 4 (Saturday) and April 6 (Monday). Filing will not take place on March 31 (Mahavir Jayanti), April 1 (annual bank closing), April 3 (Good Friday) and April 5 (Sunday).
The ECI has also enabled an online facility through the Suvidha portal to help candidates complete parts of the nomination process digitally. The scrutiny of nominations will be held on April 7, while the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is April 9.
Meanwhile, major political parties have begun rolling out their campaign plans. The DMK is set to kick off its campaign after releasing its manifesto, while AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman have already started campaigning. Actor-politician Joseph Vijay, leading the TVK, is scheduled to begin his campaign on Monday.
With the nomination process set to begin, the electoral battle in Tamil Nadu is entering a crucial phase.