Polling for the by-election to the Erode (East) Assembly constituency that began at 7 a.m. at 238 polling stations in 52 locations on Monday, was underway peacefully. As of 11 a.m., 27.89% polling was reported.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of former MLA E. Thirumahan Everaa last month. A total of 77 candidates are in fray. A mock poll was held for an hour from 5.30 a.m. and polling began at 7 a.m. No malfunctioning of EVMs has been reported so far, as voters waited in queues to exercise their franchise. .
Also Read | Erode East bypoll live updates
Congress candidate E.V.K.S. Elangovan, AIADMK candidate K.S. Thennarasu, Naam Tamilar Katchi candidate Menaka Navaneethan and DMDK candidate S. Anand all cast their votes at their respective polling stations in their areas.
District Election Officer and Erode Collector H. Krishnanunni cast his vote at a polling station at Sampath Nagar.
Over 2,100 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed for the smooth conduct of the polls while additional paramilitary personnel were posted at 34 vulnerable booths in the constituency. A total of 1,430 ballot units, 286 control units and 310 voter verifiable paper audit trials are being used for the polling. While 1,206 poll officers are on duty, 286 micro-observers are monitoring the poll process. Surveillance cameras have also been installed at all the polling stations.
At Periyar Nagar, police had to intervene following a heated exchange of words between DMK and AIADMK cadre outside a polling station. The police pacified the cadre and the situation was brought under control within a few minutes. Likewise, women electors at a polling station at Karungalpalayam raised their voices in protest, as they had been waiting for over an hour to cast their votes. Election officials pacified them as well, and polling continued.
