MADURAIThe district registered 77.14% polling till 5 p.m. on Friday in the first phase of rural local body elections. Six panchayat unions – Madurai East, Madurai West, Vadipatti, Alanganallur, Kottampatti and Melur – went to polls.
C. Moothamma and D. Mari, conservancy workers from Kambur village in Kottampatti , said residents began arriving at the polling booth at 6 a.m. to stand in queues.
On December 11, a group of residents from Chinnakarpurampatti, which is part of Kambur panchayat, protested with black flags, saying that they would be boycotting the elections since the booth was located around five kilometres away from the village even though there was a booth available in their own ward.
Officials from the district administration, who tried to convince the villagers, said a special bus would ferry voters to the polling station in Kambur. However, the villagers said no such facility had arrived.
P.A. Raman, one of the villagers, said the district administration had cheated them with the promise of transportation. “We have arranged two cargo autorickshaws by ourselves to ensure that our people can vote,” he said. V.A. Alagan, another villager, requested that the next elections be held in their village, which has around 500 voters.
In Othakadai, AIADMK cadre and independent candidates briefly blocked the gates of Othakadai Elementary School, where polling was taking place, from 9.50 a.m., alleging that the DMK candidate was campaigning within 100 metres of the polling station.
Collector T.G. Vinay, who visited the spot, said similar complaints had been received from some place in the district. “Flying squads have been deputed to go on rounds and check areas where four or five booths are located close by. There are no delays or reports of malpractice,” he said. Stern action would be taken against those who campaigned within the 100-metre line. Additional police protection had been deployed, he added.
In Vanjinagaram village in Melur panchayat union, booth slips did not have the State Election Commission’s stamp. After the issue came to light, the villagers halted polling for two hours.
Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan, who inspected the booth at Madurai East Panchayat Union Elementary School, said barring a few minor incidents, there were no complaints regarding the conduct of the election.
On several instances, police officials could be seen removing contestants from polling booths in a bid to stop them from campaigning in areas like Pallapatti and Alathur.
Although polling was dull between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., booths in Veerapandi and Sakkimangalam saw tokens being provided by 5 p.m. to hundreds of voters. In both these booths, polling went on till 7.30 p.m.
In Muduvarpatti village in Alanganallur panchayat union, polling was paused for around 15 minutes due to the protest by a voter over wrongful deletion of his name from the electoral roll.
In Kallanai panchayat of Alanganallur, polling was suspended shortly as members of political parties protested, alleging that wrong party symbols were issued in the ballot papers. However, the situation was eased after the officials explained that the papers had been issued as per the delimitation of wards.
A few polling stations in Alanganallur and Vadipatti panchayat unions, long queues were witnessed as voters from several wards were forced to vote in a single polling booth. For instance, in Katchakatti panchayat in Vadipatti panchayat union, a single booth was allocated for 3,739 voters.
T. Vellaichamy, a voter, complained that he had been waiting at the polling station for three hours. “The queue has been moving very slowly, and the voters are becoming frustrated. As there is no space to sit, the elderly people suffer the most,” he said.
At the polling stations in places like Netaji Nagar of Kallanai panchayat, despite warnings by the police, contestants were canvassing votes close by.
