950 TN candidates’ fate sealed; turnout 72.09%
Kallakurichi records highest polling percentage of 75.67; three Chennai constituencies down in the table
CHENNAI:
A voter turnout of 72.09 per cent was recorded in the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, which witnessed a fiery three-cornered contest between the fronts led by DMK, AIADMK and BJP. Barring stray incidents, the polling went off peacefully across the State with voters braving the heat to make themselves count.
The polling to the State’s 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, with 6.23 crore registered voters, kick-started at 7 am without any hiccups in almost all 68,321 polling stations across Tamil Nadu. At the end of the day, nearly 4.50 crore voters exercised their franchise, accounting for 72.09%.
Kallakurichi constituency, where DMK’s D Malaiyarasan is pitted against AIADMK’s R Kumaraguru and PMK’s Devadass Ramasamy, recorded the highest polling percentage of 75.67, followed by Dharmapuri
and Chidambaram with 75.44% and 74.87% respectively. The presence of PMK leader Anbumani’s wife Sowmiya in the Vanniyar-dominant Dharmapuri constituency against DMK’s A Mani and AIADMK’s Dr R Ashokan and the intensified campaign aimed at polarisation on caste lines is one of the reasons attributed for the enhanced voting percentage here.
However, three constituencies in the State capital – Chennai South (67.82%), Chennai Central (67.35%) and Chennai North (69.98%)- continued the dubious record of recording the lowest polling percentage, though the turnout was better than the last few elections. Madurai constituency, with 68.98% polling, recorded the lowest voting percentage.
Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told media persons that voters came in good numbers later in the day, taking the toll polling percentage to 72.09%. Those who were inside the polling station before 6 pm were allowed to exercise their democratic rights.
There is a possibility of a marginal increase in the overall polling percentage once the final figure is arrived at, said officials in the TN State Election Commission. In 2019, the State witnessed 72.47% polling when the DMK-led front locked horns with the AIADMK-led NDA. Earlier, little over 73% of electors voted in 2009 and 73.74% voted in 2014.
On Friday, 12.55% of voters turned up in the first two hours. The polling percentage stood at 24.37% at 11 am and gradually increased by 15.68% in the next two hours, taking the total polling percentage to 40.05% at 1 pm.