Lok Sabha elections were held in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore Lok Sabha constituency on Monday, 5 August, four months after it was cancelled.
Polling began at 7am and ended at 6 pm. At 5 pm, the Assembly segments clocked a voter turnout of 58.55% in Vellore, 67.61% in Anaikattu, 67.01% in Kilvaithinankuppam, 67.25% in Gudiyatham, 52.0% in Vaniyambadi and 65.17 in Ambur%.
The overall voter turnout at 5pm was 62.94%. The turnout in 2014 was 75%.
Among the 28 candidates fighting it out, the main contenders are ruling AIADMK’s AC Shanmugam and the DMK’s DM Kathir Anand.
The election, which was originally scheduled for 18 April, was postponed after Rs 10 crore cash was seized from DMK leader Durai Murugan’s warehouse by the Election Commission. His son is the DMK candidate from the constituency a point of concern repeatedly raised by the AIADMK.
The result will be declared on 9 August.
The NMK-led by Seeman has fielded Deepalakshmi as its candidate. Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam’s leader TTV Dhinakaran and have not fielded candidates.
Out of the 1553 polling booths, 133 booths have been identified as sensitive, reported The Hindu.
“In Vellore LS seat 1,553 booths are going for polls on Monday. About 7,500 booth level EC officers will conduct the elections. 3,752 voting machines will be used for polling votes,” told Sahoo, reported Hindustan Times.
Election returning officer A Shanmugasundaram had distributed seed-balls to first time voters at Allapuram polling booth.
The Election Commission had assured that all booths will be under constant vigil. However, on Sunday, officials reported a CCTV camera, 11 computers, a photocopy and printing machine and a scanner missing from a booth in Gudiyatham, reported The Hindu. Rs 11 lakh was seized in Christianpet while the amount was being transported in a car, said the media report.
DMK-led alliance had a landslide victory this parliamentary elections, by winning 37 of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu.
(With inputs from The Hindu and Hindustan Times)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)