Namakkal leads the pack among 38 constituencies; lowest polling in Chennai

Barring a few stray incidents, polling in Tamil Nadu for the 38 Lok Sabha seats and bypolls to 18 Assembly constituencies went off peacefully on Thursday.

The turnout for the Lok Sabha polls was 70.90% as of 9 p.m., about 3% lower than that of the 2014 election. The polling percentage for the bypolls was marginally higher, at 71.62%. The polling figures could be revised on Friday based on inputs from presiding officers.

Interestingly, reserved constituencies for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls saw a massive turnout. Among the SC constituencies in the Assembly bypolls, Harur registered the highest turnout of 86.96%, followed by Nilakkottai at 85.50%, Gudiyatham at 81.79%, Poonamallee at 79.14% and Periyakulam with a turnout of 64.89%.

Among the general Assembly constituencies, Pappireddipatti recorded polling of 83.31%, Tiruporur 81.05% and Sholinghur r79.63%.

Highest turnout

The pattern of turnout in reserved constituencies was similar in the Parliamentary polls, with the Chidambaram constituency, where VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan was in the fray, recording a turnout of 78.43%. Nagapattinam registered a turnout of 77.28%.

The Nilgiris, where former Union IT and Telecom Minister and DMK leader A. Raja contested, had a turnout of 70.79%, while Tiruvallur, another reserved constituency, saw a turnout of 72%. Villupuram, where the VCK’s D. Ravikumar was fighting on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol, recorded 74.96%

Namakkal had the highest turnout of 79.75% among all 38 constituencies, while Karur, where the Congress’ Jothimani was up against Lok Sabha deputy speaker and AIADMK leader M. Thambi Durai, registered 78.96% polling.

Thoothukudi, where DMK leader Kanimozhi and BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan faced off, saw a turnout of 69.41%.

Two Chennai constituencies – Central and South — were the worst performers, with polling of just 57.86% and 57.43%, respectively. Chennai North recorded a turnout of 61.76% and Sriperumbudur, 60.61%.

Kanniyakumari, where the Congress alleged that more than one lakh voters were missing from the voters list, saw sitting MP Pon. Radhakrishnan take on Congress MLA from Nanguneri H. Vasanthakumar, and registered a turnout of 62.32%.

Theni, locked in a tight three-way battle among Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam’s son P. Ravindranath Kumar, former TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan and the AMMK’s Thanga Tamilselvan, registered 75.28% polling.

Malfuntioning EVM

Polling was by and large peaceful, barring a few incidents, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said. Polling continued till 8 p.m. in Madurai on account of the Chithirai festival, and those in queue at the time of closure were given tokens to complete the voting process.

Mr. Sahoo said there were no incidents of booth capture.

In many places, malfunctioning EVMs and VVPAT machines disrupted the polling process. In a rather strange incident in Cuddalore, polling was delayed for about an hour at a polling booth in Thiruvadhigai in Panruti after a button on the EVM, marked against AMMK candidate Kasi Thangavel, was found missing.

District Collector V. Anbuselvan said polling was immediately suspended after the issue was brought to the notice of the election officials by the presiding officers in the booth. All the EVMs in the polling booth were replaced and polling continued after some time, he said. Polling was also suspended in a booth in Mayiladuthurai, two booths in Udhagamandalam, Gummidipoondi and Vellore, among other places.

Mr. Sahoo said a total of 818 ballot units, 634 control units and 1,493 VVPAT machines were replaced during the Parliamentary polls. This represented 0.71%, 0.96% and 2.26% replacements respectively, “well below the national average”, Mr. Sahoo said. For the Assembly bypolls, 74 Ballot Units, 70 Control Units and 145 VVPAT units were replaced, he said.

The EVMs will be taken to the counting centres and will be put under lock and seal in the presence of political parties, candidates and officials, Mr. Sahoo said. The centres will be kept under watch and will be protected by paramilitary personnel and the State police. The Returning officers and their representatives will also keep a tab on them, while political parties can have their representatives at the locations. The centres will also be monitored through CCTVs.

(With inputs from Venkatasubramanian V, S. Prasad, Rohan Premkumar, T. Madhavan, and Vivek Narayanan)