Tamil Nadu: Filing of nominations for local body polls ends

Filing of nominations for two-phase October 17 and 19 local body polls to over 1.31 lakh posts ended on Monday with the State Election Commission directing 35 poll observers to report at their districts of posting. SEC, in an official release, said it has directed poll observers--27 IAS officials and eight District Revenue Officers-- to be stationed at their respective districts by Friday.

Meanwhile, the SEC has convened a meeting of all recognised political parties over the civic polls in Chennai on Tuesday. The details relating to the total number of nominations received across Tamil Nadu is awaited. Elections will be held to over 1.31 lakh civic body posts, including 1,18,974 posts in rural and 12,820 posts in urban local bodies.

Counting of votes will be taken up on October 21. Scrutiny of nominations will be taken up on Tuesday. In the first phase, 10 municipal corporations, 64 municipalities, 255 town panchayats, 332 district panchayats, 3,250 village panchayat unions and 50,640 village panchayats, would go to the polls on October 17.

In the second phase on October 19, Chennai and Dindigul Municipal Corporations, 60 municipalities, 273 town panchayats, 323 district panchayats, 3,221 panchayat unions, 48,684 village panchayats would go to the polls. Corporation mayors, deputy mayors, chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of municipalities, town panchayats, district panchayats, panchayat unions, and vice-presidents of village panchayats are elected by councillors and ward members.

Councillors of Corporations, municipalities and town panchayats are elected directly by the people. Similarly, village panchayat presidents, ward members of village panchayats, district panchayats and panchayat unions are elected by people.