The Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu, Rajesh Lakhoni, said in Coimbatore that the Election Commission of India is currently in the process of developing special software to monitor paid posts by parties for election campaigns through social media.

Briefing reporters after the election review meeting with various officials from the West Zone at the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University here, Lakhoni said that the software will be ready before the election dates are announced.

“The software is currently in the testing phase, and when developed, stern actions will be taken against people who indulge in paid posts on social media through agencies during elections,” he said.

Lakhoni said that the voters list will be announced on January 20, and informed that the voters will be given 15 days’ time to correct the errors in the list, to avert confusions. “This will also help the election commission avert malpractices during the polling. Voters can get the details by sending an SMS to 1950,” he informed.

He said further that if a voter is not added in the list even after applying in advance, the respective District Collectors, who are also the District Electoral Officers, will be held responsible.

Commenting on the income and expenditure of candidates during the election campaigns, Lakhoni said that the Election Commission of Tamil Nadu is collecting the data and will send it to the Election Commission of India. “They will assess the data and those who indulge in malpractices would be dealt with strictly,” he added.

He also added that the election would also deal with hoardings according to the rules formulated after the election dates are announced.

District Collectors from eight districts in the west zone, including Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Tirupur, Namakkal, Karur, Nilgris and Dharmapuri, District Revenue Officers, Police Superintendents, and other officials participated in the meeting.