Chennai, Apr 6 (UNI) About 72 per cent of the total 6.29 crore
electorate cast their ballots, as the single phase polling to elect
the 234-member 16th Tamil Nadu Assembly and the bypoll to
Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat, passed off peacefully.
Quoting provisional figures, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata
Sahoo told reporters that 71.79 percentage of polling was recorded
during the polling, which began at 0700 hrs in more than 88,000
booths, ended at 1900 hrs, an extension of one hour in view of
the COVID pandemic.
He said the final percentage is likely to go up and will be
announced around midnight after receipt of reports from all
the districts, as those who turned up at the polling booths
after 1900 hrs, were issued tokens and will be allowed to
cast their vote.
The polling percentage this year might be marginally less when
compared to 2011 Assembly polls during which 78.01 per cent
turn out reported and could cross 74.24 per cent reported in
the last polls in 2016.
The newly-carved Kallakurichi district recorded a maximum
of 78 per cent turn out, followed by Namakkal 77.91 per cent
and Ariyalur 77.88 per cent, while Chennai recorded a low
of 59.40 per cent.
Mr Sahoo said no major untoward incident was reported from
any part of the state and the polling process passed off peacefully.
Election Commission sources that the polling percentage crossed
the 70 per cent mark in several districts.
The electoral fortunes of 3,998 candidates in the Assembly polls
and 12 for the Lok Sabha bypoll were sealed in the ballot boxes
(EVMs).
The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Congress
MP H Vasanthakumar. It will witness a direct fight between
former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan of BJP and Vasantha
Kumar's son Vijay Vasanth of Congress.
The BJP is facing the polls as part of AIADMK alliance and
the Congress as an ally of the Opposition DMK.
After polling, the EVMs were sealed and taken to strong rooms
from.
The counting will take place on May two.
(ED : PISK UP SUITABLY FROM EARLIER SERIES).
UNI GV 2050