Chennai, April 22 -- State Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik on Wednesday confirmed that around 300 companies of security forces have been deployed across Tamil Nadu to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling as the state prepares to vote in a single phase on April 23.

"We are here to ensure a free, fair and transparent election. We have 300 companies in place, for which the deployment is done. We will ensure it is an election without any untoward incident," Patnaik said.

She also highlighted the extensive enforcement actions taken since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force. "The total amount intercepted is Rs 1262 crore, and the total amount seized by agencies is Rs 543 crores. Wherever MCC has been violated, FIRs have ...