Chennai Central has lowest voter turnout of 8.59 pc; EC officials blame EVM glitches

CHENNAI: Satyabrata Sahoo, Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu, said on Friday that the Chennai Central constituency witnessed minimum voter turnout as the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were delayed at some places due to technical faults.

"Till 9 am, it is 12.55 per cent. Chennai Central has the lowest voter turnout of 8.59 per cent. There were delays in EVMs due to technical faults at 4-5 places but all were rectified. The election is going smoothly as of now in the state," he said.

However, the official voter turnout application of the Election Commission showed that the turnout in the southern state was 9.21 per cent at 9 a.m. Voting for all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu is underway. According to the data released by the Election Commission of India, West Bengal saw a 15.09 per cent voter turnout while Madhya Pradesh recorded a 15 per cent till 9 am.

Voting percentages for the states participating in phase 1 elections are --Andaman and Nicobar Islands - 8.64 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh - 6.29 per cent, Assam - 11.15 per cent, Bihar 9.23 per cent, Chhattisgarh 12.02 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 10.43 per cent, Lakshadweep 5.59 per cent, Maharashtra 6.98 per cent.

Manipur 11.91 per cent, Meghalaya 13.71 per cent, Mizoram 11.22 per cent, Nagaland 10.64 per cent, Puducherry 10.11 per cent, Rajasthan 10.67 per cent, Sikkim 7.92 per cent, Tamil Nadu 8.25 per cent, Tripura 15.21 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 12.66 per cent, Uttarakhand 10.54 per cent.

The voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was over 67 per cent. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin cast his vote in Alwarpet, Chennai and said that he performed his democratic duty to protect the country. MK Stalin also appealed to the voters to do their democratic duty. Taking to his official X Handle, the Tamil Nadu CM posted his pictures during the voting and said, "I have done my Democratic duty. I request all should do their democratic duty."

Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday across 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories as the mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7:00 am.

Voters will exercise the franchise until 6:00 pm. In the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, comprising the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI (M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, registered a landslide victory, winning 38 out of the 39 seats in the state.