NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APR 7
Tamil Nadu recorded 72.78 per cent polling to 234 assembly constituencies held on April 6, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.
According to district wise “close of poll” data released by the EC here,
Karur recorded the highest of 83.92 percent while Chennai saw the lowest turnout of 59.06 per cent.
The state has over 6.28 crore voters. Ariyalur, Dharmapuri an Kallakurichi were the other districts where over 80 percent of the voters excercised their franchise while a number of others recorded polling in excess of 75 per cent. Among the Assembly constituencies, many semi-urban and rural assembly segments saw a good turnout, with Palacode in Dharmapuri topping the charts with 87.33 per cent polling, followed by Kulithalai (86.15) in Karur and Edappadi in Salem with 85.60 per cent.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami is trying his luck yet again from Edappadi, after winning from there in 2011 and 2016.
The other constituencies with CM aspirants in fray, Kolathur here and Coimbatore South, registered 60.52 and 60.72 per cent polling, respectively. DMK President M K Stalin is seeking a third term from Kolathur while Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan is making his electoral debut from the Coimbatore South, located in western Tamil Nadu.
As many as 37 assembly constituencies recorded polling in excess of 80 percent while in about 130 segments, the turnout was between 70 and 80 percent, the data showed.
Villivakkam in Chennai had the lowest voting percentage of 55.52. Chief Electoral Office Satyabrata Sahoo said the assembly constituency wise “final voter turnout ratio” may “slightly change after scrutiny by ROs in the presence of observers.”
Elections to 234 Assembly seats were held on Tuesday, with 3,998 contestants including heavyweights like Palaniswami, deputy CM O Panneerselvam, Stalin, Haasan and Naam Tamizhar Katchi founder Seeman among others contesting from various seats in a multi-cornered fight.
Counting of polled votes will be taken up on May 2. The ruling AIADMK is seeking a third term while DMK is aiming to return to the ruling saddle after being trounced in 2011.
Incidentally, this was the first assembly polls to be held in the absence of late stalwarts M Karunanidhi and J Jaylalithaa.
While Palaniswami steered the AIADMK-led NDA, Stalin was at the forefront of DMK’s challenge to its archrival.
