EC surveys poll preparedness in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

CHENNAI: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday took stock of the preparedness for the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and expressed satisfaction over it.
A team of officials led by deputy election commissioner Umesh Sinha arrived in Chennai on Tuesday and conducted a meeting with various officials and poll observers.
"We had a discussion on preparations for the election with poll observers and police officers.We found the work taken up to be satisfactory. We will be continuously monitoring the preparations," Sinha told reporters.
Meanwhile, 275 companies of paramilitary forces began arriving in the city for poll duty.
The second batch of 5,000 personnel also arrived from various parts of the country, including West Bengal and Jharkhand. They will be deputed in constituencies in the Tamil Nadu, which has around 65,000 polling stations and 5.82 crore voters.
The EC has initiated several steps for ensuring free and fair polls.