4 Lakh in fray for local body elections

CHENNAI: As many as 4,11,177 candidates are in the fray for the 1,12,697 posts in local bodies in the State for which two-phase elections are scheduled to be held on October 17 and 19. Though there are 1,32,401 vacancies, 19,646 candidates have been elected unopposed for various posts. Of the 5,27,875 nominations filed until the last date, 10,076 nominations have been rejected by the Returning Officers for many reasons, while 86,983 candidates have withdrawn their nominations until October 3.In the rural local bodies, there are 3,45,590 candidates in the fray, while 65,587 candidates are contesting for urban local bodies. Significantly, no nominations have been filed for 57 posts which includes one village panchayat president, two town panchayat ward members, and 54 village panchayat ward members. During the 2006 elections, nominations were not filed for 356 posts.State Election Commissioner S Ayyar began consultations with collectors and police officers to review the arrangements for the polls. Distribution of voters’ list, identification of sensitive booths, preparation of supplementary rolls and steps to ensure free and fair elections were some of the issues that were discussed. He will hold such meetings at Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchy also.