LS polls: Commotion prevails after voters prevented from carrying phones inside polling booth
The voters engaged in an argument with the police personnel and later, when the chief minister and his wife left the venue, the voters were allowed to carry their phones with them.
Voters wait to cast their votes (Image credits: Justin George)
CHENNAI: Commotion prevailed in a polling station in Chennai after police personnel prevented voters from taking their phones to the booth.
When Chief Minister MK Stalin and his wife Durga reached the SIET college polling station in Alwarpet to cast their votes, the police personnel who were deployed for the chief minister's security prevented the other voters from carrying their phones to the booth.
Subsequently, the voters engaged in an argument with the police personnel and later, when the chief minister and his wife left the venue, the voters were allowed to carry their phones with them.
Due to a technical glitch, polling at the Padma Sarangapani matriculation higher secondary school station, located in the Virugambakkam area of Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency, began at 9 am instead of 7 am.
"EVMs in booth numbers 34 and 35 were not functioning on time due to battery problems. Immediately, we replaced the EVMs in the two booths and the polling started by 9 am, " said a polling station officer, preferring anonymity.
However, the voters who were waiting at the polling station claimed that there are many irregularities in the Padma Sarangapani school polling station.
"The names of many voters who have been living in the area for many years are missing from the electoral roll. We have been waiting since morning 7 am. When we asked the polling officers, no one gave a proper response. Half of them were returned home without casting their vote," said S Raghavan, a voter from Virugambakkam.
In a similar incident, a senior citizen who visited the Chennai Higher Secondary School polling station in Thiruvanmiyur to cast his vote appealed to the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner and a District Election Officer for Chennai J Radhakrishnan, that certain political parties were urging him to cast his vote outside the polling station.
Responding to this, the DEO of Chennai J Radhakrishnan said that he would take appropriate action.
Meanwhile, Ragunathan, a 72-year-old voter from T Nagar, visited the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha polling station wearing an artificial breathing apparatus (Oxygen generator) to cast his vote.
Speaking about this, Ragunathan said that he has been living with artificial respiration since the COVID-19 period.
"Elections are held once every five years. So, I came to cast my vote. I visited the same polling station even in the last Assembly elections in 2021. Voting is a democratic duty. I appeal to everyone to vote," he said.
In another incident, BJP candidate for Chennai South Tamilisai Soundararajan and DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakant, who are part of the different alliance, met each other while casting their votes in a polling station located in Saligramam and greeted each other for a victory.