In the assembly elections held on Thursday, Puducherry recorded a record voter turnout of 89.87, the highest so far since 1964 when the first elections were held following the region’s merger with India after its independence, a senior official said here and described the turnout as historic.
He added that barring a minor incident, polling for the Assembly elections across the Union Territory of Puducherry and in its enclaves, including Karaikal, was peaceful.
While the NDA was struggling to retain power, the Congress-led opposition bloc tried its best to wrest power from it in the Union Territory, with TVK headed by actor and politician Vijay creating a lot of expectations. Actor-director Seeman NTK is another party in the race, determined to make a mark.
Despite the blazing sun, people gathered in large numbers at the polling stations from 7 am onwards when voting began in the 30 Assembly constituencies.
While voting ended at six in the evening, those who arrived at the polling stations before the deadline to exercise their electoral right were allowed to cast their votes.
Tension briefly prevailed in Tirukkanur village, which falls under Manadipet Assembly constituency, when groups of BJP and Congress workers clashed at the polling station, and police attacked them with batons and dispersed them.
Important contenders include AINRC leader and Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who is facing a challenge from Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee president and Lok Sabha MP Vithilingam in Thattanchavadi constituency.
The CM is also contesting from the Mangalam seat. The outgoing Assembly Leader of Opposition, DMK’s R Siva, is fighting from Velyanur constituency, where AINRC’s M Ravikumar is one of his rivals in the multi-corner contest.
Puducherry Home Minister A Namasivayam (BJP) is seeking re-election from Manadipet constituency, where TBR Selvam, former deputy leader of the Puducherry Assembly, is contesting on a Congress ticket.
No election held here, whether for the Lok Sabha or the regional assembly, has witnessed such a high turnout, said P Jawahar, chief electoral officer of Puducherry.
The Assembly elections held in 1974 recorded 85.33 percent of the vote while the opinion polls conducted in 2006 and 2011 for the Territory Assembly recorded 85.29 percent and 85.57 percent of the votes respectively.
In the past, these poll percentages were considered the highest to date. But he said the 89.87 voter turnout now recorded was “historic and unprecedented.”
The senior official said that several measures had been taken to ensure that the elections were held peacefully, in a free and fair manner. With the help of drone surveillance, it was revealed that cash was distributed – in 5 sectors including Velyanur and Kalapit – to attract voters. $1.18 lakh were seized by the Flying Squad personnel.
A robot carrying a plate of flower petals welcomed voters at a model polling station set up at VOC Government Senior Secondary School in Raj Bhavan constituency.
Meanwhile, a delegation of nine officials from six countries visited the polling stations at VOC School and Kizhoor to learn about the electoral process here.
Voting took place in 1,099 polling stations – equipped with webcast facilities – of which 209 were under special surveillance as they were classified as vulnerable. There are 294 candidates running in the election, including 40 female candidates and 117 independents.
About 5,000 officials and 2,800 police personnel have been deployed to ensure a smooth and peaceful election, authorities said.
The number of voters in the Union Territory is 9.50 lakh and there are 23 assembly segments in Puducherry district, 5 in Karaikal and one each in Mahe and Yanam enclaves. In total, the regional assembly has 30 seats.
The number of women voters, with a strength of 5.03 lakh, is greater than that of men, who represent 4.46 lakh.
