Rural voters in the district once again proved that it was their right to vote and without giving any excuse stood in long queues despite rains and cast their votes unlike those in urban areas on Monday.
Though the district administration had carried out SVEEP activities and voter awareness programmes from the day the model code of conduct (MCC) came in force, it did not fetch the desired results in urban pockets. Admitting that the voter turnout had fallen overall when compared to the 2011 Assembly polls, District Election Officer and Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao said that widespread rain may have been a reason for the dip.
While, Thirumangalam Assembly constituency in the district was on top among the 10 constituencies, with 78.65 per cent, it did raise eyebrows among the political observers as there were allegations of widespread distribution of cash for votes by major political parties here.
Incidentally, though there were similar allegations of money distribution, the polling percentage was not encouraging as expected in other constituencies. Till noon, many polling stations including Madurai Central, Madurai West and Madurai North polled only 30 per cent, while the rest had touched almost 40 per cent by the time.
Polling officials in the rural areas of Tirupparankundram, Thirumangalam, Sedapatti, Usilampatti belts said that brisk polling was reported when it was raining from as early as 7 a.m. In fact, Uthapuram, which was identified as critical polling station, was peaceful. At 12.30 p.m., 53 per cent of the total voters had cast their votes, a polling official said.
In Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency, at a model polling station, women voters lined up in large numbers, even as it was raining. Aged persons and differently abled also waited for their turns and cast their votes.
The presence of central forces and local police officers ensured that there was no problem.
“Whenever some five-ten people assembled, the police presence discouraged them from staying for a long time,” an officer at Perayur said and attributed the scenario to the closure of liquor shops and rain as two major reasons for peaceful polling.
Widespread rain may have been a reason for the dip, says Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao
