The polling to the local bodies across nine districts in Tamil Nadu happened on Wednesday.
The nine districts where polling took place are Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Tenkasi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruppatur, Tirunelveli, Villupuram, and Kallakuruchi.
The polling took place from 7 am to 6 pm. The second phase will be held on October 9. The results will be announced by the state election commission on October 12.
Over 27,000 seats are up for grabs in these nine districts.
According to official records, a total electorate of 76,59,720 voters, including 37,77,524 male voters, 38,81,361 female voters and 835 belonging to the third gender are eligible to cast their vote.
Voting will take place in 7,291 polling booths today and in 6,652 polling booths on October 9.
Over 1 lakh officials have been deployed across Tamil Nadu to ensure smooth polling in these nine districts.
LATEST UPDATES:
Alangulam - 57.40%
Kadayam - 53.24%
Keezhapavoor - 53.58%
Melaneelithanallur - 57.78%
Vasudevanallur - 54.77%
Overall - 55.29%
A woman police officer takes care of a baby while the mother went to cast her vote in the #TNLocalBodyElections at Muttukkaadu in Chengalpattu.
— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) October 6, 2021
Express photo | @ashwinacharya05.#ElectionsWithTNIE @xpresstn pic.twitter.com/xVVsT99Gcr
Tirunelveli - 52.01%
Vellore - 52.32%
Tirupattur - 41.24%
Ranipet - 49.70%
Chengalpet - 46%
Kancheepuram - 58%
Villupuram - 61.04%
Kallakurichi - 53.27%
Tenkasi - 55.29%
46% votes polled in Chengalpet district as of 3 pm. @xpresstn @NewIndianXpress #TNLocalBodyElections#ElectionsWithTNIE
— Omjasvin M D (@omjasvinMD) October 6, 2021
Ambasamudram - 50.62%
Cheranmahadevi - 52.55%
Manur - 51.97%
Palayamkottai - 50.60%
Pappakudi - 56.18%
Kallakurichi - 33.56%
Villupuram - 43.4%
Vellore - 36.3%
Tirupattur - 25.05%
Ranipet - 30.66%
A physically-disabled voter in #Thiruporur of Chengalpet district comes to a polling booth. No disability support such as a wheelchair is available. @xpresstn @NewIndianXpress #TNLocalBodyElections#ElectionsWithTNIE pic.twitter.com/mK5aNWFVO0
— Omjasvin M D (@omjasvinMD) October 6, 2021
#Tenkasi District Election Observer P Sankar inspected a polling station located in Lakshmiyoor of #Kadayam Union#TNLocalBodyElections#ElectionsWithTNIE@xpresstn @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/Kc5WBxRG6D
— Thinakaran Rajamani (@thinak_) October 6, 2021
Rural local body polls: Polling status till 1.00pm.
— Shyamsundar N (@shyamnss170989) October 6, 2021
Vellore district - 36.3%
Tirupattur district - 25.05%
Ranipet district - 30.66%#ElectionsWithTNIE#TNLocalBodyElections@xpresstn@NewIndianXpress
Huge turnout at a poll booth in Tirunelveli's Vannikonendal.
— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) October 6, 2021
Express video | @KARTHIKALAGU86.@xpresstn #TNLocalBodyElections #ElectionsWithTNIE
LIVE:https://t.co/oQyESpsLfJ pic.twitter.com/GbYirvgt2O
Mugaiyur - 11.55%
Thiruvennainallur - 19.76%
Kandamangalam - 23.10%
Vikravandi -19.28%
Olakkur - 27.62%
Vanur - 20.3%
Gingee - 23.34%
Overall - 20.19%
Polling status till 11 am across five unions in Kallakurichi district is 18.62%
Rural local body elections begin today in 9 districts in TN
— TNIE Tamil Nadu (@xpresstn) October 6, 2021
Madras HC directs forest officials to not shoot the #Masinagudi tiger
WATCH | A brief #news bulletin from the #TamilNadu bureau of @NewIndianXpress by @JayakumarMadala pic.twitter.com/vl7ihv9lB4
Alangulam - 26.70%
Kadayam - 23.84%
Keezhapavoor - 24.26%
Melaneelithanallur - 25.94%
Vasudevanallur - 22.01%
54641 men and 52716 women have cast their votes so far
Polling status till 11 am - 23.32%
Ambasamudram - 13.50 %
Cheranmahadevi - 21.96%
Manur - 24.09%
Palayamkottai - 26.59%
Pappakudi - 24.81%
Polling status till 11.00 am
Integrated Vellore
Vellore district - 20.41%
Tirupattur district - 13.7%
Ranipet district - 18.7%
Kanniappan, a 100-year-old man, arrived at the polling booth in Thazhayampattu to cast his vote.
— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) October 6, 2021
Express video | @Jawahar_TNIE.@xpresstn #TNLocalBodyElections #ElectionsWithTNIE
LIVE: https://t.co/oQyESpsLfJ pic.twitter.com/l4kH4Q0L4p
First-time voters enthusiastically cast their votes in Kandipedu village, Vellore.#TNLocalBodyElections #ElectionsWithTNIE@dineshskumar15 pic.twitter.com/NyUm7HUw9O
— TNIE Tamil Nadu (@xpresstn) October 6, 2021
100-year-old Kanniappan was brought to vote at a polling booth in Thazhayampattu, Kanchipuram.#TNLocalBodyElections #ElectionsWithTNIE@Jawahar_TNIE @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/TZuuV6SVMB
— TNIE Tamil Nadu (@xpresstn) October 6, 2021
People from Narikuravar community cast their vote in Tirunelveli's Alagiyapandiyapuram.
— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) October 6, 2021
Express video | @KARTHIKALAGU86.#TNLocalBodyElections #ElectionsWithTNIE pic.twitter.com/QB7u4ToVv6
Integrated Vellore.
Vellore district - 6.84%
Tirupattur district - 8.16%
Ranipet district - 14%
Voters queued up at a voting booth in Kovilambakkam village panchayat in Chengalpet district. Voters rue the polling pace is very slow due to lack of election staff. Some have been waiting from 8 am.#TNLocalBodyElections#ElectionsWithTNIE @xpresstn @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/wxjkP9Jjmi
— Omjasvin M D (@omjasvinMD) October 6, 2021
Polling status of five Panchayat unions
9 am - 9.75%
Ambasamudram - 13 %
Cheranmahadevi - 13%
Manur - 9%
Palayamkottai - 10%
Pappakudi - 8%
95-year-old Thevanayagi casts her vote at Kovilambakkam for the local body election on Wednesday. (Photo | Ashwin Prasath, EPS)
Voters of Maadhudaiyarkulam village panchayat in Cheranmahadevi Panchayat Union boycott election demanding for ration shop.
Polling suspended for more than an hour since 8 am in Ullavur village panchayat of Walajabad union. The name of D Lakshmi, contesting for president post, has been printed as Dhanalakshmi allegedly on ballot papers and a list of candidates stuck near the booth entrance. Block Observer G Sreenivasrao says he's heading to the polling station. The panchayat has 1,604 voters and none has cast vote yet. Local sources say candidates and voters are expressing opposition despite both officials offering to make corrections temporarily.
Two hours after the local body polls began in Villupuram district, none turned out to vote in Ponnankuppam village in Gingee taluk, in demand of a separate panchayat. 1450 voters from the village have boycotted polls on Wednesday.
Voters of Anjankattalai of Kadayam Union in Tenkasi raised concerns over the stoppage of polling for staff to have breakfast and demanded them to consume breakfast one by one without halting the poll. The presiding officer told TNIE the poll will be resumed soon.
An elderly woman comes out of the polling booth after casting her vote in Tirunelveli. (Photo | V Karthikalagu, EPS)
Local body polling begins in Kalathimadam polling station in Alangulam Union of #Tenkasi district @VinodhArulappan @mannar_mannan @xpresstn @NewIndianXpress @ranjim @AntoJoseph pic.twitter.com/hWAKNB4Yq7
— Thinakaran Rajamani (@thinak_) October 6, 2021
The candidates and functionaries of both the DMK and AIADMK have largely centred their talks on the poll promises made by the DMK ahead of the Assembly elections. While the AIADMK campaign pointed out the promises that were not kept by the ruling party, the DMK listed out the number of promises it translated into action. (READ MORE)
In the AIADMK, there are certain issues within the party and the PMK announcing it will contest the elections alone is a setback for the AIADMK front in northern Tamil Nadu: Socio-Economic Development Foundation Director R Padmanabhan
The DMK led front has a slight edge in the rural local body polls, as generally in panchayat elections the party which is in power has an edge. Moreover, the Stalin government has done well in the past few months since it assumed office and this will also work in favour of the DMK led front: Socio-Economic Development Foundation Director R Padmanabhan
With the results of the elections coming out on October 12, it remains to be seen who will have the last laugh even as political observers are of the opinion that the DMK led front has an edge.
Pattali Makkal Katchi contesting alone in the northern districts will affect the prospects of the AIADMK.
While the PMK has openly announced that lack of time to decide on seat-sharing led to its decision to contest the polls alone, sources in the party said that the party was miffed at the AIADMK not pushing the case of its leader, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss for getting a cabinet berth in the recent expansion at the Centre.
DMK using their oratorical skills to tweak the promises they were not able to keep. As the Opposition, we have to expose these failures: AIADMK spokesperson RM Babu Murugavel
It has been a full-throttle campaign by both the Dravidian majors - DMK and ADMK - in the lead-up. DMK claimed they had fulfilled 202 out of their 505 Assembly election promises in their first four months iin power. ADMK has been questioning the claims.
Voters queuing to cast their vote by following social distancing in Melamenganapuram polling station of Keezhapavoor Union. (Photo | EPS)
Follow this thread for updates on the rural local body polls happening today in nine districts of Tamil Nadu.#TNLocalBodyElections #ElectionswithTNIE
— TNIE Tamil Nadu (@xpresstn) October 6, 2021
The AIADMK has however received a jolt even before the polls in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu as the powerful Vanniyar political party, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) which was part of the AIADMK front suddenly announced that it would go it alone in the ensuing polls.
The polls are wide open and both fronts have a point to prove. While the DMK front which is in the saddle in Tamil Nadu wants to establish that the 2021 victory was not a fluke, the AIADMK wants to regain lost ground and establish its supremacy in these rural local body elections and hence prove its presence with a bang.
With the nine districts of Tamil Nadu going for rural local body polls in two phases, the state is witnessing a tough political battle between the AIADMK led front and the DMK led front.
