‘We will ensure a free and fair poll’: CEO

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Offi cer (CEO) Praveen Kumar today said all steps would be taken to ensure a free and fair poll in the March 18 byelection to Sankarankovil Assembly constituency. Talking to reporters here, he said tight security arrangements would be made to ensure that the polling process passed on peacefully. He said there would be nearly 240 polling booths and the entire polling process would be web cast and also video graphed. He said nearly 75 per cent polling was recorded during the May Assembly polls and he expected a similar percentage this time also. Noting that all booths would be treated as sensitive, the CEO said all steps would be taken to ensure an incident free poll. ‘’Elaborate security arrangements will be made to ensure that people come to the polling stations and exercise their franchise without any fear,’’ he added. Mr Praveen Kumar said since some of the villages in Tuticorin district comes under the constituency, the model code of conduct would be in force in the entire Tirunelveli, where Sankarankovil constituency was located, and Tuticorin districts. No new schemes should be announced in these two districts till the polling process was completed. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of AIADMK Minister C Karuppasamy in October last year. The bypoll was considered an acid test for the ruling AIADMK headed by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as it was being held in the back drop of hike in bus fares and milk prices, which had been condemned by all political parties. A multi-cornered contest was expected as apart from AIADMK and its arch rival DMK, the MDMK, which had boycotted the last year Assembly polls, and AIADMK’s estranged ally, the DMDK of actor-politician Vijayakanth have also expressed their desire to contest the polls.