Tamil Nadu Votes With A Record Turnout Of 84.41 % Post SIR, Polling Largely Peaceful

Chennai: A record 84.41 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s 5.73 crore strong electorate turned out to exercise their franchise across 234 Assembly constituencies on Thursday bringing to a close an intensely fought four-cornered battle. Voting was brisk from the morning and largely free of violence or irregularities. This was the first elections conducted post the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, explaining one of the reasons for the higher turnout. At the same time, a large number of first time voters, rooting for “change”, had turned up enthusiastically at polling booths to cast their vote.

At the close of voting the fate of 4,023 candidates were sealed. Prominent among those in the race included Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is seeking to reverse the DMK’s record of not retaining power since 1977; AIADMK general Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is fighting to return to power; actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder C Joseph Vijay, who nurtures aspirations of becoming Chief Minister in his debut elections; and Seeman of Naam Tamilar Katchi, who is projecting himself as an alternative force.

Of them Vijay is contesting in two seats – Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchi East. The electorate also decided its choice in constituencies where Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, BJP Mahila Morcha president Vanathi Srinivasan, and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan are contesting.

Social media was flooded with videos of Indians living abroad booking flights to various destinations in Tamil Nadu solely to exercise their franchise. A family of three, which had come Singapore to cast their votes in Perambur, found their names missing in the rolls.

Ahead of the polling day there were numerous complaints of inadequate long distance bus services being operated from various cities. In Chennai, thousands who had arrived at Kilambakkam bus depot, resorted to protests as they could not board buses to their home towns. Many of them were first time voters. Similar scenes were witnessed at the Singanallur bus depot in Coimbatore and other places.

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In Vengaivayal village in Pudukottai district, many of the Scheduled Caste residents refused to go to the polling booths to exercise their franchise. The village was in the limelight in 2022 when human waste was found mixed in an overhead drinking water tank that supplied water to SC hamlets. The villagers accused the police of putting the blame on locals and not arresting the real accused in the case.

At a few polling booths, policemen and paramilitary personnel, posted as guards, found themselves at the receiving end for carrying a ‘Whistle’ the symbol of actor Vijay’s party. Representatives of other parties including the DMK insisted that they must remove the whistle. Also several persons turned up to polling stations wearing a white shirt and beige trousers, resembling the attire of actor Vijay.

The fate of the contestants and parties will be known on May 4 when votes are counted. Much will depend on the votes polled by Vijay’s TVK, as that will determine the victory or defeat of candidates of the DMK or AIADMK fronts in most seats.