72.25 per cent voter turnout in Vellore LS poll

Though officials believed that the turnout would touch 75%, the outlook became pessimistic as time wore on.

When the final figures came in, Vellore was at 67.5 per cent, Anaicut at 75 per cent, KV Kuppam at 72 per cent, Gudiyattam 77 at per cent, Vaniyambadi at 72 per cent and Ambur at 70 per cent.

Various locations in the Vellore, Anaicut, KV Kuppam (reserved), Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Gudiyattam recorded poor turnout at polling stations early in the day. Though polling commenced on time at 7 am, voters were forced to wait for more than 30 minutes as EVMs developed glitches at least three locations in Vellore. Polling officials at Holy Cross school were unable to repair nor explain the issue to irritated voters. Similar glitches were also reported from Pernambut in Gudiyattam constituency.

Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo, who reviewed the security of EVMs and the counting arrangements in place for Vellore, said that the polls were mostly peaceful, barring a few technical delays. Besides the 20 companies of central paramilitary staff, additional policemen were also deployed and four-tier security will be in place when the votes will be counted on August 9, the CEO said. To a query on cash for votes complaint in Vaniyambadi, the CEO said that the district Collector has been asked to file a detailed report on the subject. Reports on P2