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The Election Commission of India (ECI) will begin verifying electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in 14 polling stations of the Kolathur Assembly constituency on July 29, Wednesday, following an application by DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who lost the seat in the recent Assembly elections.
Stalin was defeated by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate V S Babu by 8,795 votes. Babu secured 82,997 votes, while Stalin polled 74,202. The verification exercise will be carried out at the EVM strong room in Chintadripet in the presence of engineers from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), The Times of India reported.
The Election Commission has invited all candidates who contested from Kolathur to witness the exercise. Officials clarified that the process is not a recount of votes, but a technical examination to verify the functionality of the EVMs.
As part of the exercise, 42 ballot units, 14 control units and 14 VVPAT units used in the constituency will undergo diagnostic checks. Candidates seeking the verification are required to pay a fee of Rs 47,200 for each polling station.
According to election officials, BEL engineers will first display the results stored in the machines, enabling candidates and their representatives to compare them with the results recorded in Form 20. The stored data will then be erased, following which a preliminary mock poll will be conducted.
A second mock poll will subsequently be held, during which the applicant or an authorised representative must cast a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 1,400 test votes to assess the machines' functioning. The EVMs will be certified after the completion of microprocessor verification.
Similar verification exercises will also be conducted in Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district and Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district after applications were filed by defeated candidates. EVMs from 10 polling stations in Uthiramerur and 14 polling stations in Rajapalayam will undergo testing.
However, officials said the request for EVM verification in Tiruppattur constituency in Sivaganga district cannot be taken up immediately as the election dispute is currently pending before the court. DMK candidate K.R. Periakaruppan had lost the seat to TVK's R. Seenivasa Sethupathy by a single vote.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Monday adjourned to July 29 a petition seeking an Election Commission inquiry against Stalin for allegedly suppressing details relating to the DMK Charitable Trust in his election affidavit.
The petition was filed by T Sivagnanasambandan, political adviser to the Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi (DMSK), who had also contested the Kolathur constituency in the 2026 Assembly election. The court had directed the petitioner to file complete documents along with accurate English translations of the Tamil records, including Stalin's Form 26 affidavit.
Questioning the maintainability of the plea in the absence of supporting material, the Bench orally observed that no notice could be issued without adequate evidence. Senior advocate P Wilson, appearing for Stalin, submitted that candidates are not required to disclose details of all trust properties in Form 26.
