1 week ago
115
The fate of 950 candidates in the fray in 39 constituencies for the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu were sealed on April 19 evening with 72.09% of the electorate turning up at polling booths to exercise their franchise in a four-cornered contest. The polling percentage in the Vilavancode Assembly bypoll was 64.54%. The figures were as of 7 pm and could be revised marginally.
The figures are provisional not including the postal votes and the final figures are expected by Saturday noon. Except for a few minor incidents, there was no major untoward incident during the polling process, said Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told journalists.
Lok Sabha elections 2024: In Pictures | Tamil Nadu votes
With 75.67%, Kallakurichi stood first among the 39 constituencies in terms of polling percentage. Dharmapuri (75.44) and Chidambaram (74.87) followed Kallakurichi. Chennai Central (67.35), Chennai South (67.82) and Madurai (68.98) registered the lowest figures in the State. Chennai North recorded 69.26%. The voting figures in Chennai were one of the highest in recent parliamentary elections.
Except for five of the total 39 constituencies, polling percentage in 34 constituencies crossed the 70% mark. Thanjavur (69.82) and Sriperumbudur (69.79) scored below 70%.
Perambalur (74.46), Namakkal (74.29), Karur (74.05), Arakkonam (73.92), Arani (73.77), Salem (73.55), Villupuram (73.49), Tiruvannamalai (73.35), Vellore (73.04), Kancheepuram (72.99), Krishnagiri (72.96), Cuddalore (72.40), Virudhunagar (72.29), Pollachi (72.22), Nagapattinam (72.21), Tiruppur (72.02), Tiruvallur (71.87), Theni (71.74), Mayiladuthurai (71.45), Erode (71.42), Dindigul (71.37), Tiruchi (71.20), Coimbatore (71.17), the Nilgiris (71.07), Tenkasi (71.06), Sivaganga (71.05), Ramanathapuram (71.05), Thoothukudi (70.93), Tirunelveli (70.46) and Kanniyakumari (70.15).
When asked about complaints in some places alleging missing of names in the electoral rolls, Mr. Sahoo said: “We have to look into the details as to on what circumstances they were removed. I request voters to check if their names are in the electoral rolls during the special summary revision process in the future. In some cases, we realised their names were present in another polling booth”.
Tense movement in Ekanapuram village after a government official put pressure asking villagers to come and vote. The villages have decided to boycott Lok Sabha election against Parandur Green Field Airport project on April 19, 2024. | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
To a query on whether there have been demand for re-polling in any booth, he said: “We will get to know about it tomorrow depending on the reports received from the Presiding Officers and independent observers and political parties.”
Replying to a query as to whether there was a complaint, he said there was a complaint from a political party and the Commission has sought a report from the District Election Officer in this regard.
Due to scorching heat, the polling percentage was poor till afternoon but it picked up after 3 pm, Mr. Sahoo said. “Many turned up between 3 pm and 6 pm”.
Asked if the figures were final, he said: “If voting process is on in some booths, we would complete polling of the last person and would then seal the EVM. We would be able to provide exact figures by 12 noon tomorrow”.
The FSTs and SSTs would be dismantled in most of the areas except for districts bordering Kerala and Karnataka which are yet to go for polls, as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India.
