4 districts gear up for urban local body polls

The elections will be held on February 19; officials outline a series of rules for candidates

The district administration in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur districts are gearing up for the upcoming election to the urban local bodies (ULB), which will be held on February 19, with flying squads and special police teams in place for enforcing the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Together, Tiruvannamalai and Ranipet have formed 84 special teams (42 in each) to enforce the MCC. Round-the-clock helpline numbers –04175 - 233616; 04175- 233023– were also launched at the Collectorate in Tiruvannamalai, with a control room to receive complaints from residents on election-related rule violations.

“A total of 27 election officers, including 20 assistant election officers, were selected to receive and scrutinise nominations and other works, like preparing the list of final candidates in the district,” said Amar Kushwaha, District Election Officer (DEO) of Tirupattur. Friday was the first day for filing nominations for the ULB polls. However, only one nomination for municipal councillor in Ambur municipality (Tirupattur), was filed. A total of 42 local bodies, consisting of 16 municipalities, 25 town panchayats and one corporation (Vellore City Corporation), comprising 912 wards in these districts, will go for polls on February 19.