New Delhi, March 15 A total of 17.4 crore voters are eligible to participate in the upcoming assembly elections in four states – Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, and Kerala, and one Union Territory, Puducherry, to elect 824 MLAs, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said here on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference, Kumar also said that voting will take place at 2.19 lakh polling stations across the four states and UT, while 25 lakh election officials will be on duty to ensure free and fair elections.
"A total of 17.4 crore voters are eligible to vote in elections to five assemblies with 824 constituencies," he said, flanked by two Election Commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
He said the total number of voters in the four states and UT is equivalent to the population of Australia, France, South Africa, Germany, and Canada.
Kumar said that the electoral rolls are the foundation of our democracy, and therefore, no eligible voter should be excluded, and no ineligible voter should be included in the electoral rolls.
He also congratulated the booth-level officers (BLOs) for their good work during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
The CEC said representatives of the poll bodies of 20 countries will visit the states going to the polls to experience India's "Festival of Democracy".
