The Election Commission of India has decided to implement a new system in the polling booths in Tamil Nadu to help voters beat the summer heat, designed in such a way to benefit female voters. According to a report in the Times of India, the ECI will allow one man for every two women in polling booths to cast their vote this election.

The polling officers will regulate the voters to set a pattern of 2:1 for women and men voters. This means that a male voter will be able to cast his vote after two women in the queue.

Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said that this was to prevent women, especially pregnant women, from standing in the queue for long hours under the scorching sun.

The ECI took the decision considering the fact that Tamil Nadu has more female voters than male: 3,02,69,045 female as opposed to 2,95,94,923 male voters.

A similar arrangement would be made for senior citizens and persons with disabilities at polling booths, wherein they will not be required to wait in lines to cast their vote.

Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in 39 Parliamentary constituencies on April 18. The state will also go to the polls in 18 Assembly constituencies on the same day and four other Assembly constituencies on May 19.

The CEO also announced on Saturday that voters from Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram, Sulur and Tirupparamkundram, who will also be eligible to cast votes for the Assembly bye-elections on May 19, will have the indelible mark applied on the middle finger of their left hand. This was decided since these voters would already have the ink mark on the left index fingers after voting for the Lok Sabha elections on April 18.

The election campaigning for the polls will officially end on Tuesday in the state in line with the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct.

April 18 has been declared a public holiday in Tamil Nadu to help people exercise their democratic right to vote.