At 7am on Wednesday, 24 hours before polling would begin, S Sathyamurthy, a DMK cadre in ward 121, is already taking a round of the street in Mylapore. He has a voter list folded into quarters in his shirt pocket, and a steely resolve to ensure every DMK supporter reaches the polling booth.
"We know every family that shifted out from here in the last five years, who died, who moved in newly, who are the first-time voters, among others. We have been trained in such a manner. Even AIADMK cadres have strong organisational network," he said.
Party workers are also busy making door-to-door visits and assigning volunteers to sit outside the polling stations on Thursday. "I have been assigned five polling stations in Virugambakkam and am preparing teams to be deputed outside them tomorrow. We have started issuing booth slips," said Jeevan, a DMDK functionary.
Meanwhile, city corporation officials are leaving no stone unturned to ensure a seamless voting experience across all 16 Assembly constituencies. The city has a total electorate of 28,30,936 voters, including 13,65,763 men, 14,64,344 women and 829 third-gender people. Polling will be conducted in 4,085 booths spread across 975 locations in the district.
To help voters easily identify their designated booths - especially in centres housing more than 10 polling stations - officials have introduced a colour-coding system. Each booth has been assigned a specific colour, along with a pathway of the respective colour and signboards. "This is the first time we are doing it," said Katta Ravi Teja, regional deputy commissioner, North, Greater Chennai Corporation.
Basic amenities have been strengthened at polling centres. GCC has ensured the availability of drinking water, electricity, toilets, ramps with handrails and wheelchair access for people with disabilities. Volunteers will be there to assist voters, further streamlining the process on polling day. "Every centre will have a medical unit," said a GCC official.
Select polling stations in the 16 constituencies will function as model polling stations and all-women-managed polling stations. For instance, in Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar, a model booth will operate from a Chennai primary school in New Washermenpet, while an all-women-managed station has been set up in Tondiarpet.
