Madurantakam, Dharapuram polling: Women, rural voters hold bypoll sway

CHENNAI: The two Assembly constituencies going to the polls on Tuesday share a common election landscape—a distinctly rural polling network and a large share of women voters, even in newly added ones after the latest SIR update.

Dharapuram has a sizeable number of polling stations classified as vulnerable.

The electoral rolls in both constituencies have also expanded since the Special Intensive Revision, with women accounting for most of the new enrolments. The number of voters in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies has increased by a combined 2,103 over the past five months, with around 1,000 new voters added in each constituency.

In Madurantakam, the predominance of rural polling stations reflects the constituency's nature. Most polling stations are in rural areas, with the rest in urban locations.

The constituency has added more voters since April, with women accounting for the larger share of the increase. Dharapuram has seen a similar trend, though its electorate has grown less.

Security arrangements are extensive in both Dharapuram and Madurantakam, with police and Central Armed Police Forces personnel deployed for election duty.

Over 2,614 police and 480 Central Armed Police Forces personnel have been deployed in Madurantakam. In Dharapuram, 1,450 election personnel are deployed with 18 polling stations categorised as vulnerable.

The State government has meanwhile directed the Labour Department and the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health to ensure eligible workers receive a paid holiday on polling day.

The provision applies to workers in factories, industrial establishments and other establishments covered under the relevant labour laws. Daily-wage and casual workers are also covered.

Employees who are electors in the two constituencies but work outside them are entitled to the holiday.

Employers violating the provision may face penal action.