Erode East by-poll live: Voting ends, 74.69% voter turnout till 6 pm

Around 74.69% voter turnout has been recorded till 6 pm. This includes 82,021 men, 87,907 women and 17 trans persons. A total of 1.69L people have casted their vote.

The Erode East by-poll concludes and the EVMs kept at the polling booths are getting sealed.

"Chances are high for EVKS Elangovan winning the Erode East by-poll. I enquired with the party cadres in the morning. Several electorates voted for the 'hand symbol' and I believe that in huge difference Elangovan will win the election. AIADMK complains are due to fear of defeat," TN Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru states.

Around 70.58% voter turnout has been recorded till 5 pm. This includes 77,183 men, 83,407 women, and 13 trans persons.

TN Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo states that electorates are allowed to vote in polling booth with Aadhaar card. He adds that complaints received are forwarded to the District Election Officer.

Drinking water cans were kept at polling booths following complaints from voters at Agraharam polling station.

Around 59.22% voter turnout has been recorded till 3 pm. This includes 65,350 men, 69,400 women and 8 trans persons.

More than 20 people staged road roko in front of a polling station in Karungalpalayam saying that the voters who came were made to wait for 3 hours. They also alleged that one of the women fell unconscious and there was no water to give her.

1,01,392 people have voted so far, according to sources.

44.56% polling as on 1pm, says Sahoo

AIADMK complains to the Returning Officer that some DMK men were involved in distribution of cash at Asokapuram but when authorities rushed to the spot they did not find anyone, officials said.

At Veerapanchathiram, complaints were received that votes were not recorded for the intended candidate after pressing a particular button on the electronic voting machine (EVM). At Brough Road, EVM did not function properly. In both places, officials suspended voting for sometime, before resuming after addressing the glitches.

Electors stage protest outside booth 148 in Karungalpalayam as they were made to wait for two hours.

Due to delay, a few voters are standing in queue dedicated to senior citizens in Periyar Veedhi.

No basic facilities, including water, available at polling booths, complain voters.

Chief Electoral Officer Sathyabrata Sahoo is monitoring the Erode East By-Election from Election Control Room in Secretariat, Chennai

Total number of voters - 63469 (until 11 am) men - 32562 and women-30907

27.89% of votes polled until 11am

Electorates with Aadhaar cards are not permitted to vote at Ward 180 as officials seek voter IDs, according to sources.

'Don't be lazy..why are you making the voters wait..?': AIADMK candidate Thennarasu accuse booth officials.

AIADMK MLA Inbadurai has mailed the Election Commission complaining of DMK's 'malpractices' in ward no. 138 and 139 in Ashokapuram.

C. Saraswathi, BJP MLA from Modakurichi Constituency casts her vote at a polling booth at CSI School, Erode.

I believe I will win this election by a margin of 25,000 votes. Polling is going on peacfully: KS Thennarasu, AIADMK candidate for Erode East bypoll

AIADMK has raised a complaint about substandard ballot ink, says KS Thennarasu after registering his vote

AIADMK candidate for Erode East bypoll KS Thennarasu casts his vote at a polling station at Karungalpalayam

This is a secular front, headed by DMK. People in Tamil Nadu, especially those in Erode, are very secular. So, I am sure that we will win this election by a big margin: DMK-backed Congress candidate from Erode-East, EVKS Elangovan

"We will win the bypoll with a big margin. The outcome from this election will reflect in the parliamentary elections in 2024. We'll win both elections," Elangovan says.

DMK backed Congress candidate from Erode-East, EVKS Elangovan casts his vote in bypoll

Heated arguements develop between AIADMK and DMK cadres in Periyar Nagar. Police try to negotiate with parties and compromise.

Returning Officer, Sivakumar says, "Everything is going well across the constituency. From our office, we are monitoring the situation across all polling booths."

5 EVMs found defective during the mock poll and were replaced: Polling officer

Election officials insist DMDK candidate S. Anand to remove his party cloth and vote

Polling booths being monitored using CCTV cameras, say election officials

Voter ID card is mandatory for voting in by-elections. One cannot vote with Aadhaar card, driving license, Polling Officer explains at Agraharam polling booth.

As mobile phones are banned inside the polling booths, Voters are struggling to hand over their phones as there was no prior notice given.

District Collector H Krishnanunni casts his vote at a polling station in Sampath Nagar, Erode.

In total 1430 electronic machines are used as 5 voting machines, 286 machines each as a control machine and 310 VVPAT machines are used.

A total of 1206 officers, 286 presiding officers, 858 polling officers and 62 additional officers, have been stationed for poll duty.

NTK candidate Menaka casts her vote at a booth in Erode Periyannan Veedhi

A total of 2,27,547 people are going to vote in this election including 1.11 lakh men, 1.16 lakh women and 25 transgenders.

Visuals from Mahajana school, Agrahara street, polling booth no. 170

Voting has begun, Erode East has a total of 2.27 lakh voters. The polling would take place from 7 am to 6 pm

The mock-polling is usually conducted at 6 am, but since there are 77 candidates in the fray it has begun early

Watch this space for live updates on the Erode East by-poll updates