Filing of nominations for Sankarankoil by-poll begins

TIRUNELVELI: The process of fi ling nominations for the much-awaited Sankarankoil (SC) Assembly byelection began today. The by-poll was necessitated following the demise of AIADMK Minister C Karuppasamy on October 22, last year. Nominations will be accepted at the offi ces of Returning Offi cers at Sankarankoil Taluk offi ce and Tirunelveli District Collector offi ce. According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission (EC), the last date for fi ling nominations will be February 29 and the scrutiny will take place on March one. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is March three and the polling will be held on March 18. The counting of votes will be held on March 21. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used in the by-poll in all polling stations and the polling will be held between 0800 hrs and 1700 hrs. Offi cial sources said here today that steps have been taken to ensure that the bypoll is held in a free and fair manner. Since all the 242 polling booths were considered as sensitive, the Central Paramilitary forces will be deployed in addition to the local police. The EC has deployed ten fl ying squads and ten static surveillance squads in the constituency. The by-election is set to witness a fi erce multi-cornered contest, as major political parties, including the ruling AIADMK, DMK, MDMK and DMDK have announced their candidates, while the BJP which has stated that it would contest the election. The Congress has decided to support the DMK candidate, while the CPI and PMK announced their decision not to contest the by-poll. The CPM has not announced its stance so far.