Puducherry polls: Security tightened with 35 checkposts, flying squads

Ahead of the April 9 assembly polls, Puducherry Police have intensified security with 35 checkposts, flying squads, and drone surveillance. Authorities have seized 2600 litres of liquor, tobacco, and 3kg of gold to ensure a fair election.

Security Tightened Ahead of Polls

Puducherry Police has tightened the security, setting up 35 checkposts to monitor the movement of persons and vehicles for the fair conduction of assembly polls. Speaking with ANI, R Kalaivanan, SSP, Puducherry, Law and Order, said, "Puducherry is having an election on the 9th of April, and for this, we have done all the preparatory measures. Around 35 checkposts have been established in Puducherry. We are strictly monitoring the movement of persons and vehicles."

"Apart from this, we are also having flying squads; 3 flying squads in each assembly constituency. We are monitoring 24/7, and we are also using drone surveillance," he added.

Puducherry police have caught nearly 2600 litres of liquor, and banned tobacco products and around 3kg of gold have been seized by the police.

"We have also formed a social media monitoring cell; we are closely monitoring all the social media pages and posts. Through drone surveillance, we found 2 cases of distribution of cash; we have caught and registered cases and arrested those people," R Kalaivanan said.

Election Details and Political Landscape

Voting in Puducherry will take place on April 9. The counting of votes will be held on May 4, the ECI announced. The current term of the 30-member legislative assembly of the Union Territory is set to expire on June 15.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) includes the All India N R Congress (AINRC) led by Chief Minister N Rangasamy, which is contesting 16 assembly constituencies, the BJP contesting 10 seats, and both the AIADMK and LJK, each contesting two seats.

The INDIA bloc includes Congress, which is contesting 16 assembly constituencies, and the DMK, contesting 14 seats. VCK, which is part of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in Tamil Nadu, has decided to contest on three assembly seats in Puducherry independently after being offered only one.

Previous Election Results

In the 2021 Puducherry assembly elections, AINRC emerged as the largest party with 10 seats, followed by DMK with six seats, while BJP and Congress won six seats each. The voter turnout was recorded at 84.8 per cent.

While in the 2016 elections, Congress had secured a majority with 15 seats, AINRC won eight seats, AIADMK bagged four seats, and DMK got two seats, with voter turnout at 83.6 per cent. (ANI)

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