With just hours left for the commencement of counting of votes, the whole of Tamil Nadu has come under a security blanket. While 80,000 police personnel are on duty in the state, 5,000 of them are in Chennai alone. The election results will decide the fate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, as Tamil Nadu witnessed the by-poll for 22 Assembly seats along with the Lok Sabha elections.
The police have kept barricades at several places and erected make-shift bamboo gates to cordon off certain areas. Election observers have also been assigned. Sources said, "Those who venture out of the counting centre will not be allowed inside again. Due to security reasons only paper and pencils are allowed to be used. Sharp objects and mobile phones are banned."
