Bypoll turnout lower than general elections

CHENNAI: Voter turnout in Assembly by-elections at the Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies on Tuesday was lower than the turnout in the April-May general elections in the two constituencies.

Madurantakam recorded 86.26% turnout as of 8.30 pm, 7% lower than that in the general elections, which saw 93.22% turnout. Though polling began sluggishly in the morning, it picked up pace later. Glitches in EVMs were reported at two polling stations. At booth 26 in Sithandi, the control unit had to be replaced twice. At booth 55 in L Endathur, the ballot unit was changed after polling agents objected to a mark visible on the name of one of the candidates.

Of the 27 candidates in the fray, the prominent faces are TVK's Maragatham Kumaravel, AIADMK's S Kanitha Sampath, DMK's I Paranthaman, CPI(M) 's P Suganthi and NTK's G Janakiraman.

In Dharapuram, where the AIADMK, DMK and ruling TVK are the frontrunners, 22 candidates are in the fray.

The prominent faces are P Sathyabama (TVK), K Banumathi (AIADMK), S Suganya (DMK), M Karthika (NTK) and P Lakshmanan (CPI).

Voting was halted at Kolinjivadi booth in Dharapuram town for about half an hour after a voter, Jaithun Beevi, reportedly claimed she was prompted by a polling official to choose the TVK's Whistle symbol.

The turnout in Dharapuram stood at 80.31% as of 8.30 pm, compared with 89.89% in the general election.