Chennai records 43.59% turnout, polling largely peaceful

Polling stopped for sometime at Odaikuppam in Besant Nagar; AIADMK cadre stage protest alleging malpractice in Royapuram

Polling in the city remained largely incident-free during the Greater Chennai Corporation election on Saturday while the turnout was 43.59% (men 45.45%, 41.57%) with most of the booths witnessing sluggish voting in the city. A few protests and complaints arose but were resolved then and there, the officials said.

The number of voters in the 200 wards of the Greater Chennai Corporation is put at 61.73 lakh.

Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said polling was broadly peaceful. “Throughout the day, we were coordinating from the control room and sending zonal corporation and police teams wherever there were issues pertaining to EVMs or local disputes. Polling was broadly peaceful. We are awaiting the final reports of the Assistant Returning Officers for sending the report of polling to the SEC.”

By evening, at least 184 complaints pertaining to residents’ grievances, EVM issues and local disputes were registered with the Corporation. Officials sent teams to resolve the issues at the 15 zones of the city. A few residents organised protests at the Kasimedu signal where officials had reportedly delayed the replacement of a faulty EVM. Candidates in Ward 43 claimed they successfully prevented booth capturing in a few polling locations on Saturday. Makkal Needhi Maiam candidate Usha Rani said a few candidates had requested repoll because of allegations pertaining to booth capturing in a few booths. 

A group of supporters of a DMK candidate barged into a polling booth in Odaikuppam, Besant Nagar and damaged an electronic voting machine (EVM) besides threatening polling officials. Police sources said It all started after an AIADMK worker was accused by the DMK of distributing money with booth slips, near a polling station in Ward 179 in Singaravelan Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur. On investigation, the police found the accusation to be false, and let her go.

DMK supporters then barged into the polling booth in Odaikuppam and damaged the EVM. They threatened poll officials and created a ruckus inside the polling booth before fleeing. Polling officials said votes which were stored in the memory of the EVM were safe and the polling continued with another machine.