Tamil Nadu polls: EC to consider single-phase voting proposal
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said a decision on holding single-phase Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu will be taken after reviewing all factors. He praised the Special Intensive Revision and assured better facilities, transparency and youth participation in the forthcoming elections
Chennai: Terming the recently concluded SIR of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu as a model for the country and a great success, CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Friday said parties in the state have suggested holding Assembly polls in a single phase and a decision on it would be taken after considering all factors.
The Election Commission of India’s decision on phases for polls will be known once the election schedule is announced, he said, adding that the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu will set a record in bettering the polls in Bihar.
Addressing a press conference here, the Chief Election Commissioner said: “The takeaway from Bihar is that it has been the most flawless elections held in recent decades and I have been assured by all the collectors, SPs and the entire electoral machinery, including enforcement agencies, that Tamil Nadu is going to set records and will be much better than Bihar.”
On the recently concluded SIR of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, he lauded it as a model for the country and a great success, saying it ensured cleaner rolls. It displayed the professionalism of election commission officials in ensuring cleaner rolls, he said in reply to criticism by certain political parties that the exercise resulted in mass deletion of voters’ names.
He said though 100 per cent voting is not mandatory as per law, Tamil Nadu’s voting has been “highly encouraging and politically conscious.” The top poll official assured amenities in 75,000 polling stations across the state.
On vote counting, he said mandatory VVPAT counting would take place and even after counting is over, any candidate, on payment of a fee, can match EVMs with VVPATs during the next seven days. Among the new initiatives, one major step was that postal ballots would be counted two rounds before the EVM rounds.
The CEC praised Tamil Nadu’s “glorious past in democracy” and said the state’s ancient Kudavolai system of polls was proudly mentioned in a conference.
He said pure electoral rolls were the bedrock of democracy and congratulated all officials, including BLOs, who helped make the SIR a great success in the state.
“The upcoming election will have a higher inclusive focus on youth. There will be 3,060 dedicated assistant electoral registration officers for campaigns in colleges. Tamil Nadu will witness over 12.5 lakh voters aged 18 to 19 years and there are one crore young voters in the 20 to 29 age bracket,” he said.
Arrangements will be made to provide polling stations on the ground floor for the benefit of senior citizens and the physically challenged.
Tamil Nadu will have 258 women-managed polling stations, 47 disabled-friendly polling stations and 265 model polling stations.
To ensure a good voting experience for the electorate, the EVMs will have colour photographs of candidates and larger fonts to help voters identify their choices.
“Each polling station will accommodate 1,200 electors. Voter information slips will be like invitations asking people to come and vote, and on the right side the booth numbers will be clearly indicated,” he said.
The entire polling process will be webcast through ECINET, which will contain information about the election, candidates, affidavits, polling stations, voter turnout and results. The voting percentage will also be constantly uploaded on this centralised digital platform. The ECINET app can be downloaded on mobile phones.
“I hope that the promise of holding inducement-free, transparent, fair and memorable elections in Tamil Nadu will be showcased by our machinery to the entire country and the world,” Kumar said, adding that political parties had assured the commission of inducement-free polls.
On permitting online filing of nominations, he said that, as per law, nominations should be submitted in person and on time. “I think the festival of democracy will take precedence,” he added.
The CEC reviewed poll preparedness for the forthcoming Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election along with senior police officials, district collectors, state government officials and heads of enforcement agencies.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, senior deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar, and Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik also participated.
During the two-day review, which concluded on Friday, ECI officials interacted with representatives of recognised national and state political parties and booth-level officers.
Earlier, the CEC honoured BLOs of Tamil Nadu for their contribution during the Special Intensive Revision 2026 and presented EPIC cards to first-time voters.
Jyothikalai, a PwD icon of the election commission, was honoured for her contribution to inclusive electoral participation.
