Election officials complete EVM verification in five vacant Tamil Nadu constituencies

Election authorities in Chennai have completed the first round of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) verification in five of the six vacant assembly constituencies across Tamil Nadu. The verification process, which concluded on June 19, serves as a crucial preparatory step for the upcoming byelections in the state.

The election department commenced the verification exercise on June 16 in five constituencies: Trichy East, Maduranthakam, Dharapuram, Ambasamudram, and Perundurai. Officials have already communicated the completion of this first phase of preparations to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Senior officials in the election department explained that they are required to complete the first round of EVM verification within 30 days after assembly seats are officially notified as vacant. District collectors, who also serve as district election officers, are executing these routine procedures in their respective districts.

The upcoming byelections are required to fill vacancies left by several political leaders. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay resigned from his seat in the Trichy East constituency. The other five vacancies were created when AIADMK MLAs resigned from their posts. Except for former minister C Vijaybaskar, the other four MLAs who resigned joined the TVK immediately after stepping down.

The sixth vacant constituency, Viralimalai, was not included in the recently concluded EVM verification round. Viralimalai was declared vacant on June 17, a day after C Vijaybaskar resigned from the post on June 16. Election officials stated that they will soon begin election preparation work and EVM verification in the Viralimalai constituency as well.

Once the official election dates are announced by the ECI, authorities will proceed with the next steps, including the randomisation of EVMs and other standard election-related exercises.