Chennai, 19 April

Polling picked up gradually in all the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies across Tamil Nadu after commencing on a dull note early in the morning. The state registered a poll percentage of 40.05 at 1pm, according to official data.

Dharmapuri saw a voter turnout of 44.08 percent while Central Chennai polled the lowest with 32.31 percent, the election commission said. At 11am, the state registered a poll percentage of 24.37.

Voting was incident-free but for some minor glitches in the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) at a few places, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said on Friday.

The voter turnout was around 12.55 percent at 9 am and in Chennai Central constituency it was 8.5 percent. "There was a delay of about five to twenty minutes in four or five polling booths in Porur, Dharmapuri and Tiruchirappalli after the EVMs malfunctioned, probably due to lose wiring or cable fault," Sahoo told reporters here. But the machines were set right without much delay and voting resumed, he added.

A group of AIADMK members had resorted to a sudden road roko at Vysarpadi here, over an alleged malfunction of an EVM at a school in MKB Nagar.

Asked about the death of a voter at a polling booth each in Salem and Kallakurichi constituencies, Sahoo said he had sought a detailed report from the district election officials on the incident. "Appropriate measures were taken at all the polling centres to provide shade and drinking water to protect the voters from the intense heat," the CEO said.

The two persons have been identified as R Chinnaponnu, 77, in Thammampatty in Salem and N Palaniswamy, 69, of Suramangalam in Salem. Meanwhile, about one thousand voters of Ennore who had announced to boycott the election over the ammonia gas leak incident at Ennore Creek withdrew their decision and decided to vote.

An all-women-run polling station was established in Erode in the state exclusively for women voters to exercise their franchise. It was decked in pink. There were no untoward incidents and polling has been peaceful in the state, Sahoo said. Asked about a section of people resorting to boycott elections, he said the district officials have been told to ensure 100 percent polling. Vilavancode assembly constituency in Kanyakumari district where a by-poll is being held has registered 35.14 percent polling till 1 pm.