Was incessant rain a dampener in south Tamil Nadu?

While Dindigul district registered 79.62 p.c. voter turnout, Kanyakumari recorded 66.32 p.c.

Age, no bar:An elderly woman braving the rains has walked over a kilometre to cast her vote in Melur constituency, Madurai on Monday.— Photo: R. Ashok

Incessant rainfall in many parts of south Tamil Nadu resulted in polling percentage not touching the 2011 mark, a series of awareness campaign notwithstanding.

After a sluggish start, flow of voters in polling booths picked up as the day progressed, with the region registering an average turnout of 72.05 per cent, against 76.19 per cent in 2011. Polling was by and large peaceful, though power cut in some places gave tense moments to officials. In some booths of Ramanathapuram district, voting went on in candle light.

While Dindigul district registered the highest turnout of 79.62 per cent, Kanyakumari, which has a high literacy rate, recorded only 66.32 per cent.

Three persons were injured when a portion of plastering in a sunshade at Kottur in Karaikudi of Sivaganga district fell off.

The voters were taking shelter from rain under the sunshade when the mishap occurred.

Tension gripped Vadamadurai in Dindigul district as three persons were injured in a clash in front of a polling station at Kosavapatti village in Vedasandur constituency.

Police resorted to a mild lathi charge at Karuppa Poovanpatti in Nilakottai constituency to disperse clashing DMK and AIADMK cadre.

Hundreds of voters blocked Theni-Kumuli highway when election officials refused to permit them to vote without booth slips.

An election official in Madurai Central constituency was shifted following allegation that she pressed a different symbol while assisting a visually challenged woman voter. Polling was affected for 30 minutes in Koottapuli and Kalakkad in Tirunelveli district due to a technical snag in EVMs. Residents of A. Subramaniyapuram in Vasudevanallur constituency boycotted the poll, condemning the delay in releasing water from Ullar and Muriyapanjankulam.

Black flags

Voters of Governagiri in Ottapidaram constituency also resorted to boycott and hoisted black flags atop their houses to protest against denial of permission for a temple festival.

Election officials travelled nearly 150 km to reach a polling booth with only nine voters at Kothayar Lower Camp in Padmanabhapuram constituency. Similarly, over 1,000 voters from hilltop villages exercised their franchise after travelling nearly six km to Pechiparai in Kanyakumari district.