Tamil Nadu assembly election: 172 polling stations identified as sensitive in Salem district

SALEM: Election officials have said 172 sensitive polling stations in 11 constituencies in Salem district would be monitored through live webcasting during the April 23 assembly election.Salem has 27,55,830 voters, including 13,70,962 men, 13,84,548 women, and 320 third-gender voters. Officials have set up 3,468 booths in 1,346 polling stations. Sensitive polling stations have been identified in each constituency and placed under enhanced surveillance, following the directions of the Election Commission. “Security arrangements will include deployment of state police and paramilitary personnel at sensitive locations, along with micro-observers to report developments directly to election authorities,” said an official in the election department on Monday.He added that sensitive polling stations were classified based on factors such as past incidents of intimidation, interference with voting rights, booth capturing or tampering, re-polls due to election offences in the last five years, unusually high voting percentages for a single candidate and irregularities involving absentee, shifted or deceased voters.Officials said that polling stations with negligible turnout in previous assembly and parliamentary elections were being targeted for voter awareness campaigns to improve participation and build public confidence.