Katpadi AIADMK candidate seeks repoll in a booth

The polling booth has a total of 991votes. Locals demanded written assurance from officials and contestants on the total closure of a private tyre manufacturing unit as the fumes from the premises were posing health hazards to residents. Though the unit was sealed following an agitation a few days ago, voters wanted the unit to be permanently closed. When both Dravidian majors and officials demurred, residents – other than 20 persons – boycotted the poll.

Similarly, in a booth at Holy Cross School in Vellore constituency, voter Logesh Srinivas was allowed by poll officials to cast a tender vote as his was already cast by a namesake.

Commercial Taxes Minister and Jolarpet AIADMK candidate KC Veeramani was taken aback while inspecting a booth in Yelagiri village panchayat at the foot of Yelagiri Hills after he spotted a DMK functionary near the booth. When he pulled him up, the latter shocked the Minister asking him why he had come there with a huge group.

The verbal duel resulted in the Minister’s supporters pulling him back from the confrontation when it looked as if the issue could snowball into fisticuffs. Saner elements intervened and restored peace after which Veeramani left the place.

Meanwhile district administrations in Vellore and Tirupattur were happy at the turnout on poll day. Final voting figures were 73.93% Vellore, 78.62% in Tiruvannamalai, 77.92% Ranipet and 77.33% in Tirupattur. When asked why turnout was not 100 per cent despite various awareness programmes being conducted, Vellore Collector A Shanmuga Sundaram said “83.5% of the 12.71 lakh voters were available in Vellore district and were issued booth slips. But, fear of COVID-19 kept them indoors.”

Tirupattur Collector MP Sivan Arul said, “we are happy with the turnout which despite the heat and COVID-19 fear was more than that for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and nearly 1% more than that seen in the 2016 Assembly elections.”