The first phase of polls to elect councillors, panchayat union presidents and ward members for the local bodies concluded in Tamil Nadu on Friday with reports of stray incidents taking place in a few polling booths. The dates for the much-awaited polls were announced by the State Election Commission early this month.
The polls are being held excluding the nine districts where the delimitation exercise has to be completed.
The newly formed nine districts are Kancheepuram, Chengalput, Vellore, Tirupattur, Ranipet, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi.
The second phase would be held on December 30.
According to sources, there are nearly 1.30 crore voters to cast their vote in first phase while another 1.28 crore in the second phase. The polling which began at 7 am ended at 5 pm.
The counting of votes would take place on January 2. According to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission, the total number of polling booths set up was 49,688 of which 24,680 were covered in phase-I. total number of candidates contesting the polls was 2,31,890, the SEC said in a press release.