Chennai, Oct 6 (IANS) Voting ended at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly bypolls in Tamil Nadu and Thattanchavady in Puducherry, with strong voter participation and isolated interruptions reported during the day.
According to Election Commission figures released at 3 p.m., Madurantakam recorded 83.86 per cent turnout and Dharapuram 78.53 per cent. These were interim figures, with final polling percentages awaited after voting concluded.
Election officials said voters across age groups arrived steadily from the morning. Long queues of women were seen outside polling stations in rural and semi-urban areas of both Tamil Nadu constituencies. At Thandarai in Madurantakam, voting was briefly suspended after DMK polling agents alleged that indelible ink marks on the electronic voting machine button beside the TVK candidate’s whistle symbol could influence voters.
Officials inspected the machine, addressed the complaint and resumed polling.
At Vilvarayanallur, DMK cadres accused police of permitting TVK workers to remain closer to the polling station entrance than election rules allowed. Minor electronic voting machine and voter-verifiable paper audit trail connection problems also delayed mock polls at some booths. Standby engineers rectified the faults, allowing voting to proceed.
Polling otherwise remained peaceful under local police and Central Armed Police Forces security.
The contests are an early electoral test for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s TVK government, formed in May.
The TVK, DMK, AIADMK, Left parties and Naam Tamilar Katchi are competing, while the PMK remained neutral.
Madurantakam has 27 candidates and Dharapuram 22. The vacancies arose after AIADMK legislators K. Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Satyabama resigned and joined the TVK, which has fielded them again in their respective constituencies. DMK and AIADMK candidates contested both seats.
In Puducherry, Thattanchavady recorded 78.83 per cent turnout at 5 p.m. Officials said the figure was expected to rise once votes cast until closing time were accounted for. Brisk polling was reported at most booths, with police and central forces deployed. Special arrangements assisted senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
AINRC candidate Ashok Anand faces Congress nominee E. Vinayagam and the DMK’s K. Sedhu Selvam. The contest tests the popularity of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy’s four-month-old NDA government.
Rangasamy vacated Thattanchavady after winning both that constituency and Mangalam in April, choosing to retain Mangalam. Votes in all three constituencies will be counted on October 9.
–IANS
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