Good turnout in repolling booths at Tiruvannamalai, Madurai

Two stations at a polling booth in ward number 25 in Tiruvannamalai town witnessed good voter turnout during the repolling conducted on Monday.

Following complaints of bogus voting and road roko by cadre of various parties during the urban local body elections on February 19 the SEC ordered a repoll on Feb 21

Strangely, cadre of the Dravidian majors and the BJP demanded action against an independent woman candidate alleging that she was indulging in bogus voting in two booths at a particular polling station with the help of her supporters.

Both the stations were located on Shanmuga Industries Government Higher Secondary School campus. Collector B Murugesh oversaw the arrangements. No untoward incidents or complaints were reported. By 5 pm polling touched 75 per cent for the booths.

Similarly, the re-polling held for ward number 16 of Jayankondam Municipality on Monday recorded 57.15 per cent turnout, which was less than the previous turnout that stood at 62.04 per cent.

An independent candidate Vijayalakshmi contesting for ward 16 was allotted spanner symbol, but the symbol was not found on the EVM. Subsequently, the candidate submitted a petition to the officials and a repoll was ordered on February 21.

As per the decision by the State Election Commission, the repolling was conducted on Monday at Panchayat Union Primary School at Jayankondam.

The re-polling in ward 17 of Tirumangalam Municipality in Madurai district on Monday, ended peacefully. Brisk polling was reported from the ward which registered around 73.55 per cent, sources said.

Adequate security was made at the polling booth at Government Girls Higher Secondary school on Usilampatti Road in Tirumangalam.

A repoll was ordered in the ward by the State Election Commission since the opposition party claimed rigging by miscreants during the voting exercise on February 19.

Madurai Collector and District Election Officer S Aneesh Sekhar while talking to reporters on Monday evening said all arrangements are in place ahead of counting of votes for all the urban bodies in the district.

Moreover, the results would be uploaded instantly as and when declared through the TNSEC’s official website. Postal ballots would be taken up for counting initially and EVMs at the subsequent stage after thirty minutes, the Collector added.