There was a dip in voter turnout in Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday compared to the 2014 parliamentary election. All six Assembly segments registered lower polling percentage.
Official figures on Friday showed that the constituency recorded 68.80% polling as against 71.11% in 2014.
The polling percentage among women, men and transgenders also showed a decline. While 69.04% of men and 68.58% of women voted this time, it was 71.26% and 70.96% five years ago. Among transgenders, the polling percentage was 47.30 against 48.19% last time.
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Of the total electorate of 15,08,329 in the constituency, 10,37,750 — 5,10,355 men, 5,27,325 women,70 transgenders — exercised their franchise on Thursday.
Interestingly, polling in the six segments followed a similar pattern. Gandharvakottai recorded the maximum polling percentage of 75.59. It topped with 78.30 in 2014. The lowest polling was recorded in Tiruverumbur segment (63.51%). It was 66.56% last time.
In the previous election, woman voters turned up in more numbers in Gandharvakottai and Pudukottai segments. Ditto this time. In Gandharvakottai, 78.16% of women and 73.08 % of men voted; in Pudukottai, it was 71.90% women and 66.05% men. Although the searing heat was one of the reasons for the lower voter turnout, CPI functionary K.Suresh felt that ‘cash for votes’ played a role.
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Meanwhile, the electronic voting machines used in Thursday’s polling were transported to the counting centre at Saranathan College of Engineering at Panchapur on the outskirts of the city.
The strong room would be guarded round the clock by armed paramilitary personnel. Besides, web cameras had been installed at the counting centre to ensure continuous monitoring.