Chennai: Election fever that gripped the State for over a month refused to go away on Saturday, two days after the completion of polling, the locking up of EVMs in strong rooms and top leaders like Chief Minister M K Stalin and deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin leaving the city for short breaks since speculations on the results began to flood social media channels and other conversations.
With some suggesting that more voters had tapped at the ‘whistle’ symbol in the EVMs than expected earlier, there was a perception that the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) of Vijay could even emerge as the dark horse, though the general impression was that the real fight is between the traditional rivals, the DMK and the AIADMK, with the ruling party and its allies having an edge over others.
The DMK’s systematic work on reaching out to voters through their army of gents who persistently interacted with people at all levels throughout the hustings was the talk of the town, pointing to their possible overall victory.
Briefing the counting agents of the AIADMK on how to conduct themselves during the counting of votes beginning on May 4, the party’s general secretary Edappadi K Palaiswwami cautioned them about malpractices on Saturday and urged them to be alert since the opening of the strong rooms.
Asking them to ascertain that the seals of the EVMs were not tampered with before counting started, he told them to take extra time and care in the counting process since he anticipated trouble to be unleashed by DMK representatives who might even indulge in violence.
If his party agents noticed any polling official behaving in a manner partial to any political party, the matter should be brought to the notice of the counting officials immediately. Also the agents should stay put till the process was over and not leave the centre before it was closed, he said.
Election Commission of India (ECI) said that its authorities would manually visit every strong room in the 62 locations spread across the State and ensure that the EVMs and VVPAT machines were secure, besides reviewing the protection provided to the centres under three layers of security protocol.
Senior ECI officials clarified that the 85.15 percent voter turnout need not be the final figure as the actual number of votes polled at each of the booths that was formally recorded in Form 17C would be cross checked with the ECI headquarters.
The final figures that would be released by the ECI would include postal ballots, service votes and votes polled by senior citizens and persons with disabilities. It would also have details of gender divisions – male, female and transgendered persons.
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