Early polling was brisk for the politically crucial by-poll in Nellithope constituency, necessitated after A. John Kumar of the Congress party quit the MLA post to enable Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, a non- member in the 30 member Legislative Assembly in Puducherry, to seek a mandate.
Long queues of men and women were witnessed in all the 26 polling booths since early morning.
Around two- and- a- half hours after polling began at 7 a.m a record 23 per cent of voters exercised their franchise, and by 11 a.m. the polling had increased to 40 per cent.
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The constituency recorded an over all vote per cent of 81. 9 per cent in the 2016 Assembly elections.
Mr. Narayanasamy conducted a whirlwind tour of all polling booths. He does not have a vote in the constituency. He is a registered voter in the nearby Raj Bhavan constituency.
Talking to media persons near a polling booth, the Chief Minister said he would win by a huge margin and also thanked the Election Commission for taking adequate steps to conduct the by-poll in a free and fair manner.
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His opponent Om Sakthi Sekar fielded by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam exercised franchise in a polling booth in Naveena Garden. Shortly after casting his vote, Mr Sekar who represented the constituency from 2006 to 2016, alleged that the Chief Minister was trying to influence voters by visiting the polling booths.
A large number of Congress workers drawn from outside the constituency are camping in the constituency while polling was on, he said.
Mr. Sekar along with party cadres staged a road roko at Saram junction in Nellithope constituency seeking eviction of Congress workers from the constituency.