EVM checking begins for Ambasamudram by-poll following MLA resignation
The first-level checking of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to be used in the Ambasamudram by-election commenced on Thursday. The by-poll has been necessitated by the resignation of AIADMK MLA Esakki Subaya on May 26, who later joined the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) led by actor C. Joseph Vijay.
District Collector and District Election Officer Anand Mohan inaugurated the process at the Tirunelveli Taluk Office premises. Technicians from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru, are checking and calibrating the machines in the presence of representatives from recognised political parties.
Mr. Anand Mohan stated that the Ambasamudram constituency will have 321 polling booths for the upcoming by-election. Accordingly, 642 ballot units, control units, and VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) have been selected. These EVMs were not used in the last Assembly election held on April 23. A team of six BEL technicians will conduct the checking and calibration until June 23.
The unused EVMs are being drawn from a separate stock. All machines used in the previous election, along with other unused ones, are stored in a godown on the Tirunelveli Taluk Office premises. The votes from each Assembly segment must be preserved for 45 days from the declaration of results, necessitating separate storage.
Ambasamudram recorded the highest polling percentage in the district—83.77%—in the last Assembly election, an 11.25% increase over the 2021 poll. The constituency comprises many villages with predominantly poor, lower, and middle-class families.
In the April 23 election, AIADMK candidate Esakki Subaya secured 65,589 votes (34.30% share), defeating Congress candidate V.P. Durai who received 55,344 votes (28.95%). TVK candidate S. Rajagopal obtained 53,611 votes (28.04%), and Naam Thamizhar Katchi candidate V. Sivasankaran got 14,906 votes (7.80%). Mr. Subaya, a two-time MLA, won by a margin of 10,245 votes. Following his resignation and switch to TVK, he may be fielded again as the TVK candidate in the by-poll.
