Despite allegations by a section of political parties that there was widespread deployment of cash and gifts to purchase votes, people of Tamil Nadu on Monday celebrated the Assembly election as a festival, a festival of democracy. The polling process which commenced at 7 am and concluded by 6 pm was peaceful as well as joyous, according to Rajesh lakhoni, chief electoral officer, Tamil Nadu.
According to lakhoni, the State recorded 73.85 per cent polling as per initial reports. The 2011 Assembly election saw 78.12 per cent polling while the 2006 Assembly election recorded 70.70 per cent.
Tamil Nadu saw 69.19 per cent polling by 5 pm, said lakhoni. “After 2.30 pm, polling was slow and this could be due to intermittent rainfall in some of the districts. Some of the constituencies in Chennai too registered low voter turn out though polling was brisk in the morning hours,” said lakhoni. He said Dharmapuri registered 85 per cent polling, the highest in the State.
Tamil Nadu which is under the spell of severe summer, saw a cool election day as the skies opened up by early morning itself and 15 districts experienced heavy downpour and winds.
Monday saw polling for 232 out of the total 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu. Polling in Aravakurichi in Karur district and Thanjavur were deferred by the Election Commission following large-scale seizure of cash meant for distribution among voters and also based on evidence of bribing the electorate. The decision to postpone the polling in Thanjavur was taken late Sunday night . Polling in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur will be held on May 23 and results would be announced on May 25, according to an Election Commission of India release.
There were long queues in front of all polling booths much before the doors were opened for polling at 7 am. The polling day had a starry start in Chennai as super stars of politics and cinema made it a point to cast their votes in the morning itself. Those who made it to the polling stations by 7 am include DMK president M Karunanidhi, his son and heir apparent M K Stalin and family, Vijayakanth, Tamil cinema's reigning kings Rajnikanth, Kamalhasan, Karunanidhi's poetess daughter Kanimozhi and her mother Rajathi Ammal. Dayalu Ammal, Karunanidhi's ailing second wife was missing from action. By 11 am Tamil Nadu saw 25 per cent of the electorate casting their votes making the polling brisk and fast.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa accompanied by her aide Sasilakala cast her vote from the booth at Stella Marie's College near Poes Garden. “Please wait for two days and you will know the verdict of the people.” Jayalalithaa told reporters who approached her for her views on the 2016 Assembly election.
Interestingly, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the third time on May 16, 2011 making this Monday the fifth anniversary of her assuming office. She had to be away from office for a brief time from September 2014 to May 2015 following her conviction in the Disproportionate Asset Case by the Bangalore Special Court. She returned as Chief Minister again in May 2015 after the Karnataka High Court acquitted her of all charges.
Stalin claimed the DMK-Congress front would sweep the election and win all the 234 seats. “Jayalalithaa herself would be defeated at R K Nagar,” said Stalin. His father Karunanidhi was more reasonable while expressing his views: “The DMK-Congress front will win the election and the DMK will be able to form a Government of its own,” said Karunanidhi.
It should be specifically mentioned that the polling process was peaceful all over the State despite tempers running high occasionally during the campaign. Not a single untoward incident has been reported from anywhere in Tamil Nadu.
The main contenders in the 2016 election are the eternal rivals Jayalalithaa (AIADMK) and Karunanidhi (DMK). What makes 2016 Assembly unique is the presence of People's Welfare Front, a rainbow alliance of six parties under the leadership of Vijayakanth. This is the first time in the recent past Tamil Nadu witnessed a multi-cornered contest featuring six political formations.