In turnout, Cauvery delta seats have fared better than others
Polling in Karur, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, and Chidambaram has been higher than the State’s average in past four Lok Sabha elections
The Lok Sabha constituencies, falling under the Cauvery delta region, have always recorded higher turnout than the State’s average since the delimitation in 2008.
Four Lok Sabha elections have taken place in the last 16 years, including Friday’s (April 19) polling. On all the occasions — in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024 — the turnouts in Karur, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, and Chidambaram were higher than the State’s overall average. Dindigul, in the southern region, was another constituency that scored ahead of the State’s average, all the time.
This is one of the main ndings of a study of the voter turnout data, in one third of the 39 constituencies in total. In addition to the ve constituencies, eight others — Chennai South, Sriperumbudur, Vellore, Dharmapuri, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tenkasi — were chosen for the study. Chidambaram, Nilgiris and Tenkasi are the constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC).
Familiar faces
One of the factors that contributed to their consistent performance is the presence of well-known candidates. For example, till 2019, AIADMK veteran M. Thambi Durai was elded in Karur. By defeating him last time, S. Jothimani of the Congress came to be known as a giant killer. As for Chidambaram, VCK founder Thol. Thirumavalavan contested in all the four elections. Barring 2009, when actor-turnedpolitician D. Napoleon was in the fray, Perambalur, in the last three polls, had the 82-year-old patriarch of the SRM Group of Institutions and the IJK founder T.R. Paarivendhar as one of its candidates.
On the contrary, the performance of Chennai South and Sriperumbudur – both in the northern region of the State – was below par, in addition to Coimbatore. In fact, Chennai South this time was at the penultimate spot in turnout. Being essentially urban constituencies, they suer from the problem of ASD (Absent, Shifted and Deceased) electors in the rolls. Tenkasi is also a part of the poor performers group. Dharmapuri, an economically-backward area, recorded higher turnout in three out of four polls, while Vellore and the Nilgiris belonged to the “50:50” category. Only once, Madurai witnessed higher turnout than the State’s average. This was in 2009 when M.K. Alagiri, son of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, was the DMK nominee, and after being elected, he became a Union Minister.
Nearly 30 constituencies recorded a dip of at least two percentage points in the turnout this general election, compared to the previous Lok Sabha elections in the State.
According to data provided by the Election Commission (EC) at 7.08 p.m. on Saturday, the turnout in the State stood at 69.46%. Despite several programmes by the EC and non-governmental organisations to raise awareness on voting, the polling percentage this time was relatively low. The turnouts stood at 72.47% in 2019, 73.74% in 2014, and 73.02% in the 2009 general elections.
An analysis of polling percentages in 2019 and 2024 shows only a marginal change of nearly one percentage point, either an increase or a decrease, in seven Lok Sabha constituencies. There is a two percentage point increase in turnout in Vellore, where polling was held three months after the original schedule in 2019 due to the alleged excess use of money.
High turnout
The Dharmapuri constituency, which topped the polling percentage this election, has witnessed a turnout of over 80% for the