TN polls 73%, Kerala polls 77.35%

(This story was published before the Kerala EC revised the figures of voter-turnout. The final tally stands at 77.35%. The headline has been edited accordingly.)

The Tamil Nadu elections saw a fairly strong voter turnout of 73.76% on Monday as polling booths opened at 7 am across the state.

Meanwhile, Kerala recorded a voter turnout of 71.7 per cent.

Celebrities and politicians lined up to cast their votes early in the morning in Chennai with the total state voter turn-out standing at 18.3 per cent till 9.15am.

A brief spell of rain soon followed in parts of southern Tamil Nadu with a light shower in parts of Chennai, which led to queues dwindling and the EC contemplating the extension of the voting deadline.

By 11am, the state had a voter turn-out of 25.2 per cent.

However, things improved soon as voters started to come out and the turnout increased to 41.2 per cent by 1pm.

By 3pm, TV reports stated that the turnout was 63.7 per cent in the state and 50.27 per cent in Chennai.

The turnout continued to rise and was reported to be 69.1 per cent by 5pm — an hour before the voting closed.

The Hindu reported:

Poll Final report: Thondamuthur 65.72 per cent; Singanallur 61.89 per cent; Mettupalayam 74.86 per cent; Coimbatore North 61.72 per cent; Pollachi 77.31 per cent; Coimbatore South 61.91 per cent; Namakkal district: 82.10 per cent; Tirupur 72.68 per cent; Madurai 70.38 per cent; Valparai 72.7 per cent; Kinathkadavu 69.42 per cent; Perambalur 79.54 per cent; Tirunelveli 73.15 per cent; Thiruvallur District 71.20 per cent; Kanyakumari 66.31 per cent; Nagapattinam 77 per cent.

Puducherry witnessed a record voter turnout of 81.94 per cent, the Election Commission said.