The first contingent of the Border Security Force (BSF), comprising 1130 personnel divided into nine companies, arrived in Madurai on Sunday.
The nine companies have been deployed in Madurai and adjacent areas, as the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in the coming weeks. They were sent to Tenkasi, Tuticorin and Nagercoil districts.
The BSF personnel were tested for COVID-19 after their arrival.
The elections for the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly are scheduled to be held in a single phase on April 6. The counting of the votes will be done on May 2.
The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is contesting the polls in a pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They will face off against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by MK Stalin, who has allied with the Congress However, the Congress and the Dravidian party have recently been at hostilities with one another.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan’s recently launched political party, the Makkal Neethi Maiam (MNM), is also contesting the polls. The pro-Hindu Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK) is also in the fray.
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