CHENNAI: Election Commission of India will begin checking and verifying electronic voting machines (EVMs) from 14 polling stations in the Kolathur assembly constituency at a strong room in Chintadripet on Wednesday. The exercise follows an application by DMK president and former chief minister M K Stalin, who lost the seat to TVK candidate V S Babu by 8,795 votes. Babu polled 82,997 votes against Stalin’s 74,202. DMK won 59 of the 164 seats it contested in the 2026 assembly election.The elections department has invited all candidates who contested from Kolathur to attend the exercise. The verification, including a mock poll, comes with a fee of Rs 47,200 for each polling station. “This is not a recount of votes but an exercise to check the functionality of the machines. In Kolathur, 42 ballot units, 14 control units and 14 VVPAT units will undergo diagnostic checks. Mock polls will also be conducted. Arrangements have been made for candidates, their agents and security personnel,” said a senior govt official.The week-long exercise will be conducted in the presence of engineers from Bharat Electronics Limited.The machines will be certified after the verification of the microprocessor is completed. BEL engineers will initially display the results stored in the machines, allowing candidates and their representatives to compare them with the data provided in Form 20. The stored data will then be erased and a preliminary mock poll conducted, during which candidates or their representatives can cast test votes.“This will be followed by another mock poll in which the applicant or an authorised representative will have to cast a minimum of 500 votes and a maximum of 1,400 votes to test the machines’ functionality,” an official said.Similar checks will be conducted following applications from candidates who lost in Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district and Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district. K Sundar lost Uthiramerur by 14,223 votes, while S Thangapandian was defeated in Rajapalayam by 10,605 votes. According to officials, EVMs from 10 polling stations and 14 polling stations will undergo checks in these two constituencies following petitions.A verification request concerning Tiruppattur in Sivaganga district cannot be taken up immediately because the election dispute is before the court, officials said. DMK candidate K R Periakaruppan lost the constituency to TVK’s R Seenivasa Sethupathy by a single vote. In Tirupattur, machines from 18 polling stations will undergo checks. The elections department conducted a training session for collectors on Monday on the procedures to be followed during the verification exercise.
