With the elections over on April 6 and the long wait to continue till the declaration of results on May 2, the main political parties in Tamil Nadu are leaving no stone unturned to keep a watch on the strongrooms housing the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at the counting centres.
Accordingly, each political party has appointed agents in turn to watch the CCTV footages which show the doors of the strongrooms where EVMs are kept.
The agents are working on an eight-hour shift and have been allocated a room in each in the counting centres. While the DMK has been proactive in appointing agents to monitor the counting centres, all political parties of Tamil Nadu, including the ruling AIADMK, have appointed agents to watch the CCTV screens.
Kokilavarnan, an agent of DMK who is in-charge of a counting centre in Chennai, said, “We have agents who are registered with the Election Commission and they are employed in three shifts starting from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. We provide them food, snacks and tea for the job. These are hard-core party workers who are deputed as agents.”
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Congress have also deployed agents to monitor the counting centres.
Abdul Latheef, a leader of the IUML at Vaniyambadi, the party’s stronghold, said: “We have many workers who are ready to be vigilant round the clock. So our agents are there in the counting centres watching the CCTV footages of the strongrooms just to be sure that no manipulation is taking place.”
Tamil Nadu Congress chief and senior leader K.S. Alagiri also confirmed that the party has posted agents to monitor the counting stations.
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