Voters line up outside a polling station to vote during the first phase of the general election at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India, April 19, 2024.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Chennai: People across Tamil Nadu, especially in rural areas, stepped out of their homes in droves on Friday to vote in the Lok Sabha elections with the state recording an estimated 72.09 per cent turnout. Kallakurichi in northern Tamil Nadu topped the list with 75.67 per cent, while all three constituencies in Chennai came at the bottom with an average of 68 per cent.
The polling percentage in Chennai (South), Chennai (Central), and Chennai (North) at 67.82, 67.35, and 69.26 respectively was impressive though they were lower than the state’s average. Sources said this was the best turnout in Chennai city since the 1980s.
Madurai too registered a low turnout at 68.98 per cent, while other urban pockets like Coimbatore polled about 71.17 per cent. The voter turnout saw a sharp increase after 3 pm as people came out in large numbers only after the heat subsided.
Officials said the polling percentage registered on Friday, which is subject to change, is the lowest since 2009 which saw a turnout of 73.02 per cent, 2014 (73.74 per cent), and 2019 (72.47 per cent). The polling in all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies was smooth with no major incidents being reported except for sporadic complaints of EVM malfunctioning.
Dharmapuri recorded second-highest polling at 75.44 per cent, Chidambaram (74.87 per cent), Perambalur (74.46 per cent), and Namakkal (74.29 per cent). In Vilavancode, where by-elections are being held, the turnout was xxxx per cent.
After the end of the voting, BJP state chief K Annamalai, who is also the party’s candidate in Coimbatore, alleged that the names of over 1 lakh voters have been deleted from the voters list. The party’s nominee in Chennai (Central) Vinoj P Selvam too spoke in the same vein alleging that names have been removed from the list.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, who was among the first to vote, said, “I.N.D.I.A. (alliance) will win as expected,” while other leaders merely asked people to come out in large numbers to vote.
As many as 950 candidates were in the fray for 39 seats while over 1 lakh personnel were deployed for security on Friday.
The electoral outcome, which will be known on June 4 after the completion of all seven phases of polls across the country, is likely to set the tone for the 2026 Assembly elections that are just about two years from now, which is much more crucial for the Dravidian majors than this election.
The largely bi-polar political fight has turned into an intense three-cornered contest this time around with the BJP, very keen to breach the Dravidian fortress, throwing its ring by cobbling up a rainbow coalition of parties that were part of the AIADMK alliance in the past.