Polling in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Cuddalore and Chidambaram on Friday was largely peaceful barring technical glitches at a few polling stations, issues of poll boycott in a few booths and high temperature slowing down the polling process in the afternoon.
The turnout for the Lok Sabha polls in Cuddalore Parliamentary constituency was 63.92 % till 5 p.m. while Chidambaram (Reserved) Lok Sabha constituency registered 66.64 % polling. In several Assembly constituencies, people came early to the booths to escape from the scorching heat, while in others it started on a slow pace but picked up.
Long queues were seen in most of the booths, especially those located in the rural areas and suburbs of Cuddalore and Chidambaram. In many polling stations in Chidambaram Lok Sabha constituency, malfunctioning EVMs disrupted the polling process. After officials rectified the faults and replaced the faulty EVMs, voting commenced and progressed smoothly.
Differently-abled and elderly persons were helped by volunteers and policemen to exercise their franchise in several polling booths. In Cuddalore Lok Sabha constituency, the poll percentage saw a steady increase since morning. The percentage, which was around 9.88 % at 9 a.m. went up to 24.72 % at 11 a.m. and 51.16 % at 3 p.m. The same trend was witnessed in Chidambaram Parliamentary constituency too where voting picked up over the day to touch 66.64 %.
Among the heavyweights who cast their votes were Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare M.R.K. Panneerselvam who cast his vote at a polling booth in Muttam in Kattumannarkovil. Former TNCC president K.S. Alagiri cast his vote at the Panchayat Union Elementary School in Keerapalayam.
The Assembly constituency-wise break-up in Cuddalore Lok Sabha segment till 5 p.m. is as follows: Thittagudi (SC) - 63.26 %, Vriddhachalam - 64.77 %, Neyveli - 63.89 %, Panruti - 60.26 %, Cuddalore - 60.60 % and Kurunjipadi - 70.61 %.
Boycott
There were issues of poll boycott at some polling stations, particularly in villages, where the residents considered it the right time to register their protest against official apathy towards their demands.
A polling booth in Eripalayam near Panruti remained completely deserted as not a single resident turned up to vote since morning. The residents had called for a poll boycott in protest against the District Administration’s indifference to their demand for a separate Panchayat. However, the officials succeeded in convincing the electorate and they started to vote from 3 p.m.
Live streaming
The turnout of women was comparatively large in rural areas when compared to urban areas. Polling continued at a majority of the booths even after the deadline and the voters were issued tokens by the presiding officers due to a large turnout.
The Real Time Poll Monitoring System was put in place and voting process was monitored every minute through live streaming from the control room set up at the Cuddalore Collectorate. Polling in vulnerable and critical polling stations across Cuddalore was by and large peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from any part of the district.
Polling was by and large peaceful in Villupuram (Reserved) and Kallakurichi Lok Sabha constituencies. Villupuram recorded an average voter turnout of 66.90 % till 5 p.m. while Kallakurichi registered 72.43 %.
PMK founder S. Ramadoss, party president Anbumani Ramadoss and PMK candidate for Dharmapuri Lok Sabha candidate Sowmiya Anbumani cast their votes at a polling booth in Tindivanam.
Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy and VCK candidate for Villupuram D. Ravikumar also cast their votes at a polling booth in Villupuram and Morattandi respectively.
