Never before security for TN by-poll

The principal secretary of the Election Commission, A K Majumdhar, accompanied by a team of professors and scientists, arrived in Madurai to monitor the preparations for the Madurai West Assembly poll on Tuesday.

Officials said it was for the time in Tamil Nadu that three persons, other than civil servants, were being engaged as observers.

The three -- L N Das, Professor of IIT, Shict, Professor of Central Institute of Plastic Engineering Technology and Suman Singh, scientist of the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute -- accompanied Majumdar to monitor the poll and "act as per the instructions of the EC", officials said.

Another first is that the election department used paramilitary forces to dispatch all EVMs and control machines.

EVMs have already been dispatched to all 216 polling booths. EVMs are normally carried by the state police to the booths.

Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta has been asked to stay in the constituency. He will be holding a meeting with officials later on Monday.

Officials said 20 new check posts had been set up around the constituency, each of which would be manned by four armed CRPF personnel and two local policemen.

All vehicles entering the constituency will be checked and vehicles doing election work without permit would be seized. A special SP, assisted by six DSPs, has been posted to supervise security arrangements, they said.

59 anti social elements had been arrested, police said and added that more arrests would be made on Monday.

Officials said the EC was keen that there should not be even a single violation, in view of the large deployment of police and officials in the constituency.