Tamil Nadu bypolls: Voting begins in Madurantakam, Dharapuram amid tight security
Polling began at 7 am on Tuesday amid tight security for the by-elections to the reserved Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
Voters started arriving at polling stations well before voting began and waited to cast their ballots.
Voting will continue from 7 am until 6 pm.
In Dharapuram, DMK candidate S Suganya was among the early voters. Speaking to reporters, she expressed confidence about winning the bypoll.
In Madurantakam, voting was delayed briefly at one polling station due to a technical issue involving the VVPAT system. The problem was subsequently resolved, officials said.
Madurantakam has more than 2.13 lakh voters, while Dharapuram has over 2.23 lakh registered voters.
Officials said arrangements had been made at polling stations to provide basic facilities, including shamiana pandals for shade. Facilities have also been arranged for voters to safely deposit their mobile phones, as phones are not permitted inside polling booths.
Extensive security and surveillance measures have been put in place, with personnel from the Tamil Nadu Police and Central Armed Police Forces deployed across the constituencies.
The state government has declared a public holiday in areas covered by the two Assembly constituencies and directed that employees and workers be given paid leave to vote.
A total of 27 candidates are contesting in Madurantakam, a constituency in northern Tamil Nadu near Chennai, while 22 candidates are in the fray in Dharapuram in western Tamil Nadu.
A five-cornered contest is underway involving the ruling TVK, the main opposition DMK, AIADMK, the Left Front and the Tamil nationalist TVK.
Before polling began, officials conducted mock polls in both constituencies in the presence of representatives of contesting parties to verify the functioning of the electronic voting machines.
The bypolls were necessitated by the resignations of former AIADMK MLAs Maragatham Kumaravel and P Satyabama from Madurantakam in Chengalpet district and Dharapuram in Tiruppur district, respectively, before they joined Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led TVK.
Both former MLAs have been re-nominated by the TVK. The DMK and AIADMK are contesting both seats. (with inputs from PTI)
