After a slow start, polling picked up pace later in the day with nearly 50% votes polled for urban local body elections in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur districts till 3 pm on Saturday.
Major cities of Vellore such as Gudiyatham, Katpadi and Vellore Corporation recorded nearly 50% of the votes till 3 pm, while smaller towns such as Pallikonda, Thiruvalam and Odugathur, along with Javadhu hills near Anaikut block, accounted for 65% of the total votes in the district. recorded more than
In Vellore Corporation limits, EVMs malfunctioned at a polling station in Ward 18, Government Higher Secondary School, Sathuvachari (Zone-2), at around 3 pm, resulting in an argument between DMK and AIADMK members, as there was defective EVMs. The delay in replacing the police force was deployed at the booth as tension escalated. Vellore SP S Rajesh Kannan inspected the booth and ordered the representatives of political parties engaged in the debate to disperse.
In Tiruvannamalai district, which saw elections to 14 urban local bodies within its limits, major towns such as Tiruvannamalai town, Arani and Vandavasi saw nearly 50% of the vote. On the other hand, smaller towns such as Chengam, Chetpet, Polur, Kilpennathur and Cheyyar recorded over 70% of the votes till 3 pm, officials said.
Ranipet and Tirupattur districts also recorded 54.53% and 49.21% respectively, with people from smaller towns voting in greater numbers than those from larger towns such as Wallajah, Arcot and Ranipet and Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Tirupattur.
A total of 16.29 lakh voters will decide the fate of 3,898 candidates contesting for 905 wards in all the four districts.
District Election Officers and SPs were visiting sensitive booths (404 booths) in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur. A total of 4,969 police personnel, including women constables, were deployed to ensure peaceful polling. A total of 586 wheelchairs were arranged for disabled voters in these four districts. In these districts, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, pregnant women and lactating mothers were allowed to cast their votes without standing in queues.