Decent turnout but no surge in voting in Tami Nadu on peaceful day

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu witnessed no surge in voter turnout as polling for 38 parliamentary constituencies concluded on Thursday — a surprise as many had predicted strong anti-establishment sentiment that usually drives voting percentage higher.

According to preliminary data, 69.55% of voters exercised their franchise before the voting ended at 6 pm in all but one seat. The number could edge higher after adding data from Madurai, where the polling time was extended by two hours to accommodate a festival.

The state has 39 seats. Voting to the Vellore constituency was cancelled on Tuesday after the seizure of huge amounts of cash. Observers said the number was decent, but less than the 73.74% turnout recorded in the 2014 polls. Seats in western and mid-western Tamil Nadu recorded nearly 75% polling. Voting in constituencies holding bypolls to fill up 18 assembly vacancies also witnessed high turnouts.


“It is true that there is no significant surge… but we feel it this turnout is enough to help us,” said DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said. “We are disappointed with so many reports emerging of voters complaining about their names not being on the list. It is also possible that some targeted deletion has happened. It has happened in the past,” he alleged.

In Tamil Nadu, the Election Commission replaced 443 electronic voting machines and 727 voter-verified paper audit trail units before the voting started or during voting.