Moderate to brisk polling recorded in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry today.
About 70 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Tamil Nadu, 71 per cent in Kerala and 82 per cent turnout was recorded in Puducherry in the Assembly elections for which the polling was held today.
Briefing media in New Delhi, Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said that polling was peaceful in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry barring few minor incidents. He said, a record amount of over 110 crore rupees cash was seized during election campaign in Tamil Nadu out of which 48 crore rupees were released after verification.
About the polling in Kerala, Director General of Election Commission, Sudeep Jain said that the polling in the State passed off peacefully. He said, 41 FIRs were registered in different Assembly Constituencies and 49 arrests were made. Mr Jain also said, a record amount of 24 crore rupees cash was seized during elections.
Though political parties requested the Election Commission for extension of polling time at least by an hour the Commission stuck to its schedule. Briefing the media Chief Electoral Officer V Candavelou said that the polling went uninterrupted in all the 930 polling stations. Unexpected rains led to power failure at several places and caused inconvenience in certain booths.
Though there were some minor scuffles between party cadres, not even a single FIR is filed on the polling day thanks to the elaborate security arrangements by Puducherry Police. Counting of votes is scheduled for 19th May. The Electronic Voting Machines are being moved to the safety of Counting Centres, two in Puducherry and one each in Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.
Tamil Nadu has seen a peaceful polling for the state Assembly today, though it was dampened by the unseasonal rain. The voter awareness efforts by the Election officials included highly innovative measures like roping in social media and microblogging sites like Facebook and Twitter. Incidentally, more than 30 percent of the voters are subscribers of these Information Technology tools and their power has been tapped by the Election Commission.
The chief electoral officer Rajesh Lakhoni said that the poll percentage is lower in towns than in rural areas as it used to be. Historically, areas like Ramnad, Nagapattinam and many other Delta districts used to register more than 80 percent of polling, but this time torrential rainfall in the areas played spoilsport. In this election, youth volunteers were deployed in over 13000 booths with wheelchairs to help elders. Such measures make it a model poll in more ways than one.
In Kerala, Polling continue in peaceful atmosphere in all the 140 Assembly Constituencies.
Updated at 8:57 PM