CHENNAI: Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu except in Vellore constituency and the by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies by and large went off peacefully except for a few stray incidents which included CRPF personnel fired in the open air to disperse the crowd at Keezhvisharam near Ranipet and people boycotting elections in two or three places.
Till 7 p.m., the polling percentage for Lok Sabha elections stood at 69.95 per cent and it is expected to go up to 72 per cent when the final figures for Madurai constituency where polling was still on even after 8 p.m. The by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies recorded 71.62 per cent. "Since polling went on in some places even after the official hours were over, the final percentage would go up," said Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo. In 1967 Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu polled 76.59 per cent of votes. Till now, that record has not been broken so far.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu polled 73.74 per cent of votes. Regarding the complaint that one lakh voters have been removed from the electoral rolls in Kanyakumari district, the CEO said the complaint did not mention in which constituency or polling booth these voters have been removed. However, a report in this regard would be sought from the DEO.
So far, the highest polling was recorded in Namakkal (78p.c) followed by Chidambaram (76.03) and Kallakurichi stood third (75.18 p.c). Lowest polling was recorded in Chennai Central (57.05 p.c). As far as by-elections are concerned, the highest polling was recorded in Harur (86.96 pc) and the lowest polling was in Sattur (60.87 p.c). During a mock poll, 443 ballot units, 406 control units, 726 VVPATs were replaced.
During the polling, 375 ballot units, 228 control units, 766 VVPATs were replaced. In all, 0.33 per cent of of ballot units and 0.34 per cent of control units and 1.16 per cent of VVPATs have been replaced while the polling was taking place. At the national level, these figures show that the performance of EVMs in Tamil Nadu was very good. Responding to a question, the CEO said "There was not single incidence of booth capture in Tamil Nadu. He also replied in negative was there any possibility for repolling in some constituencies or booths.
Once the polling was over, the EVMS and VVPATS would be taken to strong rooms in each constituency and kept there in the presence of representatives of political parties and election officials. The strong rooms would be sealed and political party representatives would sign on the seal. Till May 23 when counting takes place, round the clock security would be provided to the EVMs and VVPATs. eom/muruga Graphics to go with this story.Polling percentage since the first LS polls. 1952 (57.89)1957 (47.71)1962 (68.77)1967 (76.59)1971 (71.83)1977 (67.14)1980 (66.76)1984 (73.09)1989 (66.87)1991 (63.92)1996 (66.94)1998 (57.95)1999 (57.98)2004 (60.81)2009 (73.02)2014 (73.74)eom/muruga