Except for Madurai and Tirunelveli, all the other eight Lok Sabha constituencies in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu crossed the 50 per cent mark of voting as of 3 p.m., according to a data released by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, T.N., on Friday, April 19, 2024.
Data showed that Madurai registered 47.38 %; Dindigul 53.43%; Virudhunagar 53.45%; Theni 52.52%; Sivaganga 51.79%; Tenkasi 51.45%; Ramanathapuram 51.16%; Kanniyakumari 51.12%; Thoothukudi 50.41% and Tirunelveli 48.58%.
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections, Phase 1 LIVE Updates | 51.41% votes polled till 3 p.m.
The Vilavancode Assembly Constituency in Kanniyakumari district, where a by-election is being held due to the vacancy caused by the resignation of sitting MLA S. Vijayadharani, who joined the BJP, registered 45.43 % as of 3 p.m.
Some villages boycott polls
Though numerous awareness campaigns were organised by the Returning Officers for the public to vote without fail as it was their right, a few villages in several Lok Sabha constituencies in the southern districts boycotted the polls.
In Sivaganga district, village residents from Sithoorani and Kalloorani hamlets near Illayankudi did not cast their votes as they said that basic amenities had not been provided to them for many years. Attempts by the officials to assure them that grievances would be looked into, did not fetch the desired result. Even booth agents stayed away from the polling stations here. About 1,000 votes were on the rolls here, officials said.
In Ramanathapuram district, two polling booths (265 and 266) in the Mudukalathur Assembly constituency remained deserted. Village residents here too, said that basic amenities had not been delivered and the promise to arrest two accused persons in an attempt to murder case was not fulfilled by the Ilanjampur police.
In Thoothukudi district, the police had to intervene and chase away residents after miscreants damaged vehicles when some anti-social elements attempted to force village residents to stop their boycott and cast their votes.
In Pottalurani village, water discharged from a private fisheries unit has not only polluted the fields, but also caused an unpleasant odour in the area, village residents alleged, and said this was the reason for their boycott. Despite repeated pleas by the public, the authorities have not taken any action in the past. Hence, they staged a demonstration and demanded action, the residents said. During this time, some supporters of a political party allegedly came and forced the villagers to vote, which led to a physical exchange of blows. Senior police officers rushed to the spot and posted pickets.
In Tenkasi district, villagers in Irumankulam demanded the closure of a stone quarry in their area and abstained from voting.
In Dindigul district, villagers in Seeragampatti near Natham did not vote, following charges against the elected representatives of not fulfilling their basic demands for several years.
Smooth polling early in the day
Polling, which commenced at 7 a.m., proceeded more or less smoothly in both rural and urban pockets, officials said.
There was a little confusion at a polling booth in Begampur in Dindigul constituency as there were no signboards. Elderly people found it difficult to climb up the ramp, which was not disabled-friendly.
For Abitha and Lokesh, first-time voters, the whole process was exciting. A student in Coimbatore, Abita said that she had come home to cast her vote and was thrilled about doing her duty. Reading the newspapers had helped them form some idea about whom to vote for, Lokesh said.
EVMs malfunction
At the Ammapatti polling booth in the Athur Assembly segment, the EVM was defective. As a result, polling could not proceed for about two hours.
In the Natham Assembly segment, Seeragampatti village residents staged a dharna seeking basic amenities and a school. “There is no road. There is no water. Why should we vote,” they asked, and claimed that they had boycotted the polls. Officials said that there were about 100 votes here. The call to boycott took them off guard, as they had spoken to the residents earlier.
In Madurai, polling was brisk from 7 a.m. in pockets like Melur Assembly. T.N. Minister P. Moorthy arrived at a polling station and cast his vote. Likewise, Minister P. T. R. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan cast his vote at the Kakkai Padiniyar Corporation Girls Higher Secondary School in Madurai accompanied by his mother Rukmini Palanivelrajan, Fit Person of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.
In Sivaganga, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram cast his vote. Senior BJP leader H. Raja was one of the first voters to cast his vote at a booth here.
In Tirunelveli district, T.N. Legislative Assembly Speaker M. Appavu cast his vote in a booth at his hometown near Valliyoor.
In Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha constituencies too, voting proceeded smoothly. BJP leader and candidate Pon Radhakrishnan, after casting his vote in Nagercoil, told press persons that the Congress was distributing money and urged the officials to take note of it.
