On April 12, bypolls will be held in Radhakrishnan Nagar, the constituency of the late Jayalalithaa in Chennai. The Election Commission announced on Thursday that this election was necessary due to the death of the former CM Jayalalithaa. The EC also announced that the mode of conduct will come into force immediately.
The counting of the votes will be done on April 15. The poll notification will be released by the poll panel on March 16 as per schedule. The date for submitting nominations in the constituency will be March 24 and these will be scrutinized on March 24. The final date for withdrawal of the candidatures is March 27.
The EC said, “The commission has decided to use electronic voting machines in the bypoll. Adequate numbers of EVMs have been made available and all steps have been taken to ensure that the polls are conducted smoothly with the help of these machines.”
Continuing the old practice, the EC said that voter’s identification will be mandatory during the polls and that the electoral photo identity cards will be the main document for identification. If any constitutional member is not awarded an identity card, the EC issued separate instructions will be issued for additional documents for identification of voters during the polls.
RK Nagar is going for bypolls for the third consecutive year this time. Jayalalithaa after being acquitted by the Karnataka High Court won the by election in the constituency. When assembly elections were held in Tamil Nadu State in May 2016, Jayalalithaa contested again and won. Her death on December 5th, 2016 has aroused the need for by polls this year.
