Despite snags, Sulur sees brisk polling of 79.41 pc

While polling went off without any incidents, voters turned restless in many booths due to faulty EVMs.

Polling officials replaced VVPAT machines at the booths in Irugur and Vagarayampalayam after they developed a snag during the polling process. Similarly, an EVM had to be replaced at Elachipalayam as it developed a snag after 185 votes were polled.

Similarly, polling was delayed by over an hour at a booth in Karumathampatty as the EVM turned faulty. Tense moments prevailed, when voters were denied permission to take their cell phones into the voting centre at a booth in SLV Nagar in Sulur. Police had to intervene, when members of two political parties broke into a quarrel at a booth in Kannampalayam.

Voters complained that EVMs were not kept in order at a booth in Kamatchipuram. Following this, polling was stopped for over an hour and resumed after setting the EVMs in order. Many party men, who came to vote by wearing party dress were denied permission to vote by the polling officials triggering a quarrel.  Of the total 324 booths, 130 were identified as sensitive and were provided enhanced security in the Sulur segment.

 After the polling ended, EVMs were taken to the storage rooms in Government College of Technology.

The demise of AIADMK MLA R Kanagaraj on March 21 has necessitated a by-election to the Sulur Assembly constituency. He won in 2016 by securing 1,00,977 votes.

For this polls, Kanagaraj’s cousin VP Kandasamy, who is also the president of Coimbatore rural district Amma Peravai is contesting on a AIADMK ticket.

Pitted against him is the old war horse and former DMK Minister Pongalur N Palanisamy, AMMK’s K Sugumar (former AIADMK MP), MNM’s G Mayilswamy and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s MV Vijayaraghavan. Besides them, 17 other independents were in the fray.