Barring a few incidents of scuffle between AIADMK and DMK workers and malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the four constituencies in Karur district witnessed brisk and peaceful polling on Tuesday.
The polling that began on a slow pace picked up momentum from 9 am. In the first two hours of polling, just 9.18 % of votes were polled in the district. It was just 4.16% in Karur constituency. However,the polling gathered pace thereafter. Irrespective of rural and urban pockets, long queues were seen. In most of the booths, women queues outnumbered men queues. The scorching sun did not deter the voters in exercising their franchise.
With the voters thronging in large number, the Government Arts and Science College at Karur, where multiple booths were set up, wore a festive look. Voters came in droves to cast vote. Though the octogenarians were given an option to cast postal votes this year, many chose to visit the polling stations in person to cast votes with the support of relatives and neighbours.
At the Government (Girls) Higher Secondary School in Kulithalai, elderly men and women and several lactating women stood in long queues to cast votes. Enthusiasm was palpable among the first time voters.
“I am so thrilled to use the democratic right for the first time in my life. I want to see a society that gives equal opportunity to all,” said A.K. Oviya (19), a first-time voter of Kulithalai, who pursues a UG programme in a Bengaluru college.
Muslim dominated Pallapatti, which falls under the Aravakurichi constituency, witnessed brisk polling right from 7 am. Braving sweltering heat, women came in large number to the booths. Auto rickshaws and private vehicles transported elderly men and women to the polling stations in Pallapatti.
The poll percentage, which stood at 9.18% at 9 am rose to 27.95% by 11 am and went up further to 44.30% by 1 pm. The average poll percentage stood at 77.21 by 5 pm.
There were a few incidents of scuffle between the AIADMK and the DMK workers in Karur constituency. The DMK candidate of Karur constituency V. Senthil Balaji and Balamurugan, Chairman of Karur Panchayat Union at Vangal entered into heated arguments when he objected Mr. Senthil Balaji for visiting the polling booth along with his supporters. The police, who intervened in the matter, brought the situation under control. Similarly, the police chased away the cadres of the AIADMK and the DMK when they clashed between them over an issue of casting a vote of an elder at Thiruvallurvar ground.
Commotion prevailed at the Pallapatti Higher Secondary School as the BJP workers and the DMK cadres engaged in heated exchanges of words. Claiming that the health workers, who were on duty at the school, were indirectly favouring the DMK candidate in Aravakurichi candidate, the BJP cadres demanded the officials to replace them.
Collector Prashanth M. Wadnere told The Hindu that the polling passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. There were a few minor glitches in the functioning of EVMs and they were all rectified immediately.
Karur district recorded 83.92 polling percentage of votes in four constituencies.
As per the provisional figure, Aravakurichi constituency registered 88.8% polling followed by Kulithalai with 86.5%. Krishnarayapuram and Karur recorded 84.14% and 83.5% polling, respectively.
Ariyalur constituency recorded 84.58% polling percentage and in Jayamkondom it was 80.35%. The final polling percentage in Perambalur was put at 78.12% and in Kunnam constituency it was 80.06%