CHENNAI: The by-election to the Sankarankoil Assembly constituency, necessitated due to the death of former Minister S Karuppasamy on October 22, will be held on March 18, the Election Commission (EC) said on Thursday. Filing of nominations will begin on February 22. The model code of conduct came into force with immediate effect in Tirunelveli where Sankarankoil is located. As the final list of candidates will be announced only on March 3, the EC has given just a fortnight to political parties for campaigning. However, the ruling AIADMK announced its candidate, S Muthuselvi, on January 18 itself, two months ahead of the date of polling and has formed a 34-member panel, including a major chunk of Cabinet Ministers, to look after election work and Muthuselvi has already commenced campaigning.It is likely to be a three-pronged contest in the constituency with DMK and MDMK having announced that they are in the fray.The EC said the date of polling was fixed after taking into consideration various factors such as festivals and electoral rolls. The last date for filing nominations will be Februrary 29 and the scrutiny will take place on March 1. The last date for withdrawal of nominations will be March 3 and the counting of votes will be held on March 21. The EC has decided to use EVMs in the bypoll in all polling stations. Steps have been taken to ensure that the by-election is held smoothly with the help of these machines. Polling will be held between 8 am and 5 pm.The EC has announced that Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) shall be the main document of identity for a voter. A list of additional documents for identification will be announced.
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