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Polling in the by-election for the R K Nagar constituency to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly concluded peacefully, recording a tentative polling of 74.4 per cent, said the state Chief Electoral Officer. Polling in all 230 booths began at 8 am and went on till around 5 pm.
By 5 pm, 71 per cent people had cast their votes. By 10 am, 13 per cent polling was recorded at R K Nagar. During previous elections, the constituency had seen a turnout of 71 per cent. The votes will be counted on June 30.
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This was the seventh byelection after the AIADMK government came to power in May 2011 and the ruling party has won all of them.
In a first-of-its-kind of initiative, the Election Commission provided the photos of the candidates along with their names and party symbols on electronic voting machines (EVMs). “Voter turn out had touched 53.1 per cent at 2 pm and it steadily increased till 5 pm,” an official said.
The bypoll at R K Nagar was necessitated after the resignation of AIADMK MLA P Vetrivel, paving the way for party chief J Jayalalithaa to contest from the constituency after the Karnataka High Court acquitted her in the disproportionate assets case last month.
Most of the opposition parties including DMK, BJP, Congress and PMK have boycotted the election alleging that it wont be a fair contest with AIADMK ruling the state.
C Mahendran of CPI, fielded by the Left parties, is seen as the main rival to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Traffic Ramaswamy, an anti-corruption activist, is also a strong contender.
Alleging booth capturing, Mahendran filed a complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner on Saturday evening. Some trouble was also reported from a booth near Tondiarpet between the cadres of AIADMK and Ramaswamy supporters.
Of the 230 polling stations, 22 were identified as vulnerable. As many as 530 EVMs and 265 control units were used in the election and a total of 1,150 election officials and 230 additional staff were deployed on polling day.
A day before polling, the Madras High Court dismissed a petition that sought to include the expenditure of three-star campaigners in the electoral expense of Jayalalithaa.
Eight months after she was forced to quit over a conviction in the disproportionate assets case, the AIADMK chief returned as CM of Tamil Nadu, for the fifth time, after her acquittal last month. The bypoll comes as a shot in the arm for her ahead of Assembly elections next year.