Chief Election Commisioner to review poll preparations in Tamilnadu today

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi arrived Chennai on Wednesday from New Delhi on a three-day visit to Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry to review the preparations made for the single phase May 16 Assembly polls.

Soon after his arrival along with two Election Commissioners, he proceeded to Puducherry by road to chair a meeting with the CEO, state police, nodal officers and other officials of enforcement agencies. The Election Commission team will have separate meetings with political parties, DEOs, SSPs, DIG and IGP besides, Chief Secretary, Excise Commissioner and IT officials, before leaving for Chennai on Thursday afternoon.

In Chennai, the Election Commission team would hold a meeting with political parties on Thursday and with Collectors and police officials on Friday, before leaving for New Delhi.

In fact, Governor Raghuram Rajan had said on Tuesday that “Around election time, cash with the public does normally increase,” after the announcement of the first bi-monthly monetary policy at the RBI headquarters here. He had admitted that cash in people’s hands is more by up to Rs 60,000 crore at present, which is abnormal.

Data released by RBI suggested that there was a 48 per cent increase in currency circulation at Rs 2 trillion for the week ended March 18, which has led to various theories and calls for need to keep a tab on the matter.

Recently, with the first phase of polls conducted in West Bengal and Assam, Election Commission on Wednesday, said its teams have seized over Rs 49 crore illegal cash in the five poll-bound states, with the maximum Rs 20.40 crore confiscated in Tamil Nadu.

The seizures have been made by Election Commission-appointed special flying squads and surveillance teams and those drawn from the Income Tax department. The model code of conduct for these polls came into force on March 4 when the Election Commission announced the schedule for the five states and soon after wards the special teams were deployed to curb the use of illegal inducements to voters.

Eminent Writer and Two-Time Sahitya Akademi Awardee Puviyarasu Dies at 96 in Coimbatore

Eminent Tamil writer, poet, translator and two-time Sahitya Akademi Award recipient Puviyarasu passed away at his reside...

FMD Vaccination Camp Begins Tomorrow in Coimbatore - District Collector Announcement

Foot and Mouth Disease vaccination camp will be conducted in Coimbatore district from July 1 to August 10. All cows, bul...

Pollachi MP K Easwarasamy Inaugurates Fair Price Shops and Anganwadi Center Worth Rs 57 Lakh in Coimbatore

Pollachi MP K Easwarasamy inaugurated two fair price shops and an anganwadi center built at Rs 57 lakh from constituency...

Coimbatore–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express Delayed by 7 Hours 40 Minutes

Southern Railway has further rescheduled the departure of the Coimbatore–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express (Train No. 1101...

Bengaluru–Thiruvananthapuram Weekly Special Trains Extended Till July End

Southern Railway has extended the operation of the SMVT Bengaluru–Thiruvananthapuram North Weekly Special trains till th...

Tiruppur Woman Dies After YouTube-Assisted Home Childbirth; Probe Under Way

A 32-year-old woman from Tiruppur district died after developing severe complications following a home childbirth allege...