Election Commission "announces that Tamil Nadu elections will be different"

 The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) against money distribution and incitement will be strictly enforced during the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said in Chennai on Friday. 

“The Election Commission is confident that this time the Tamil Nadu elections will be different,” he said. As far as election promises are concerned, he said that as per law, the jurisdiction of the Election Commission starts from the day the Model Code of Conduct comes into force. “The [MCC] will be strictly enforced to ensure that [money distribution] during elections, incitement during elections [is] not a threat. The entire election machinery is geared up to ensure that this time there is no such threat in Tamil Nadu elections.” 

Mr. Kumar said that the Special Radical Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls carried out in Tamil Nadu is “a model for the country” and a “big success”. The aim of the SIR is that no eligible voter should be excluded and no ineligible voter should be included.  The revision has to be carried out by the Election Commission before the elections under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. “The basic purpose of any revision is to ensure clean lists,” he said.

“I commend the election machinery and all the voters of Tamil Nadu for the correctness of the SIR in Tamil Nadu. Out of 5.67 crore voters, only 216 appeals have been filed with the Collectors so far. This shows the professionalism with which the SIR has been carried out in Tamil Nadu,”

Replied to a question on political parties urging the Commission to conduct a single-phase poll in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Kumar said that all concerns would be taken into account and the Commission would take a decision on how many phases of polling should be conducted in Tamil Nadu.