73% polling recorded in Tamil Nadu

Chennai, April 24: All

in

went to polls in the sixth phase on Thursday. A number of high-profile candidates were in the fray in the state, including former Union ministers TR Baalu, Dayanidhi Maran, A Raja, Mani Shankar Iyer and others. Son of Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Karthi, is contesting from Shivaganga after the former decided not to contest this time.

The DMK had won 18 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha election while the AIADMK, the current ruling party, won only 9 seats. The Congress had bagged 7 seats. The DMK was a member of the Congress-led UPA alliance till March 2013 when it quit on the question of Sri Lankan Tamils. The BJP, which has formed an alliance with five parties in the state this time, is a key player this time.

Over 5.5 crore voters will cast their ballots in Tamil Nadu this time. A total of 845 candidates are in fray of whom 55 are women. Security has been beefed up at all polling booths across the state. There are in all 60,818 polling booths in TN. Puducherry has 40 candidates contesting.

7:30 PM: Turnout in Tamil Nadu was 73%, the same figure as in 2009.

6:15 PM: 70 per cent polling recorded in Tamil Nadu till 5:00 pm. [Follow constituency-wise updates]

6:00 PM: A hard-core DMK supporter was forced to cast his vote wearing his wife's nighty. The man, who reportedly has dhotis with DMK logos, was barred from entering into polling booth at Aravakurichi, which comes under Karur constituency. Later, he rushed home and could not find anything but his wife's nighty to wear.

5:55 PM: A drunkard took the EVM machine and ran away in Tiruttani, which comes under Tiruvallur parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu.

5:20 PM: 80 per cent polling in Puducherry till 5:00 pm.

5:00 PM: After raid, Election authorities lodged a police complaint against five companies at an IT park here for functioning on the day of Lok Sabha polling in Tamil Nadu today in violation of rules and sent back around 2,000 employees home to enable them to vote.

3:50pm: Tamil Nadu registers 61% voter turnout till 3 pm.

3:45 pm: Virudhunagar constituency recorded a turnout of 58.47% till 1pm followed by Karur 56.48%. Central Chennai has recorded the lowest polling of 35%. North Chennai, South Chennai and Central Chennai -- recorded poor polling compared to other constituencies in the state.

3:35 pm: In Chennai, many were surprised not to find their names in the electoral list. So when the Chief Election Commissioner-Pravin Kumar arrived for casting his vote, he was 'gheraoed' by the public.

3:30 pm: In an EVM goof up in Gummidipoondi, 221 voters cast their votes, but the machine showed 2021 voters instead. While the EVM machines were changed immediately, the 221 voters were not allowed to vote again and were assured that their votes will be taken from the previous EVM. goof up in

3:10 pm: Chennai north reports 41% voter turnout, Chennai South 39.5%, Chennai Central 35.2% till 1 pm.

2.30 pm: 47.19% voter turn-out in Tamil Nadu till 1 pm.

1:40 pm: 102-year-old Veeramma votes this time too. An Amma supporter, she claims that she has voted in every election. [Read]

1:20 pm: 54% voter turnout in Puducherry till 1 pm.

1:10 pm: EC didn't act on DMK complaints: Karunanidhi [Read]

1:00 pm: Election Commission's helpline receives 3,104 calls in Tamil Nadu. [Read]

Tamil Nadu records 40% voter turnout till 12 pm.

12:55 pm: An elephant entered a polling booth in Nilgris lok sabha constituency and interrupted polling for sometime. This is where A Raja is contesting on DMK ticket.

12:40 pm: Nilgiri records 32.3% turn out; Central Chennai is at 25.4%; Sivaganga at 36.3%; Dharmapuri recorded the highest voter turnout with 42.9%.polling till 11 am. Central Chennai constituency recorded the lowest voter turnout in the state with just 25.4%; North Chennai and South Chennai constituencies recorded 27.4% and 26.3% polling respectively.

12:22 pm: Pondy CM Rangasamy comes in his Yamaha bike to vote. Pondicherry records 10% voter turnout till 9 am.

12:20 pm: Private enterprises in Chennai have decided to give discounts on services and goods to encourage citizens to go and vote. Those who have voted can avail the offers by showing their inked index fingers.

For example, Lakme salons, is giving a 50% discount on haircuts that can be availed till April 30. Naturals Lounge on South Boag Road in T Nagar has offered a 20% discount on all services on the polling day. At Brass Tacks, a clothing store, voters can get 10% discount on the new spring collection. At Raja's Chicken and Mutton Centre in Aynavaram, voters can save Rs 20 on 1 kg chicken.

Temperature in Chennai at the moment 34 degrees Celsius

12:10 pm: 104-year old voted in Chennai.

12:00 noon: Tamil Nadu turnout at 11 am was 35.28%; Chennai North 27.4%; Chennai South 26.3%; Chennai Central 25.4%.

11:45 am: 35.28% voter turnout in Tamil Nadu till now. Meanwhile, the Election officials has raided 3 IT companies in Chennai, which didn't declare holiday for polling, close to 35,000 employees were sent out forcibly and offices sealed, cases filed.

11:30 am: Sriperumbudur witnesses a surge of new and veteran voters. It is the largest constituency in the state with 19.46 lakh voters and features six assembly segments, namely, Maduravoyal, Ambattur, Alandur, Sriperumbudur, Pallavaram and Tambaram adjoining Chennai. Twenty-one candidates are in fray here, including 12 Independents. Former Union minister TR Baalu won from this seat in 2009 by over 25,000 votes.

11:15 am: Puducherry and TN voter turnout is 20% till 10 am. Brisk voting in parts of Chennai, Karur, Salem, Tiruvannamalai.

11:10 am: Captain Vijaykanth casts vote.

11:05 am: Alagiri casts his vote from Madurai.

11:00 am: Karunanidhi and Stalin cast their votes in Gopalapuram. Karunanidhi resides in Gopalapuram in Central Chennai from where Dayanidhi Maran is contesting.

10.50 am: Kandaiyan, a father of two kids died in a road accident while he was on his way to cast vote near Salem. Wife and kids survived the truck-bike collision.

10:25 am: Chennai North reports a voter turnout of 12.53% by 9 am. Brisk voting in parts of Chennai, Karur, Salem, Tiruvannamalai.

[See more photos of Rajnikanth, film stars casting votes]

9:40 am: P Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram cast their votes. Karti, confident about the win, said "I am super confident about the win. We have had a first class campaign as compared to the Dravidian parties. The latter have their own regional channels and are restricted to their offices. But we met people one on one and discussed their issues."

Speaking of the narrowing margin of his party's win in Shivaganga, he said,"elections are like cricket, you may win by 1 run or 100 runs. If you win, you win."

Taking his son's ideas further on a national platform , P Chidambaram said, "There is no Modi wave in Tamil Nadu. His speeches are empty rhetoric, while we have spoken to people. "

10:00 am: Voter turnout in Tamil Nadu is 14.31% till 10 am.

9:15 am: DMK's Kanimozhi, ironically, says that the country needs strong anti-incumbency rules.

9:10 am: Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalitha casts her vote. She said,"I request all the political parties and the public to cooperate with the EC for a peaceful voting. I do not wish to give any other remark now and will reserve them till the results are out."

[See more photos: Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections]

9:00 am: Kanimozhi says that there is a strong incumbency wave in Tamil Nadu.

8:50 am: DMK's Kanimozhi votes in Chennai.

8:40 am: Actor Ajith and wife Shalini cast votes at Thiruvanmiyur.

8:20: Kamal Hassan casts his vote in Alwarpeth. Hassan said," I an glad that I am a part of the change and in building the country".

Meanwhile message from Rajnikanth: Come out and vote.

8:15 am: bjp'S a rAJA major contender against Karti Chidambaram in Sivaganga constituency. P Chidambaram had scraped through the polls last time with just 33,000 votes. Both Karth and P Chidambaram to cast vote in a few minutes.

8:10 am: Congress is weakened in Nilgiri, according to public opinion, as DMK dominates. A Raja's involvement in the 2G scam may affect votes to DMK, but not in a major way.

A member of DMK said that Maran may lose out on votes because of him, but the party will win. People are also considering the anti-incumbecy factor.

Kamal Hassan casts his vote in Alwarpeth

Kamal Hassan casts his vote in Alwarpeth. Hassan said," I an glad that I am a part of the change and in building the country".

6th phase of LS election

Kamal Hassan casts his vote in Alwarpeth. Hassan said," I an glad that I am a part of the change and in building the country".

6th phase of LS election

Actor Ajith and wife Shalini cast votes at Thiruvanmiyur

6th phase of LS election

All 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu are set to go to the election in the sixth phase on Thursday.

EVM malfunction in Gopalapuram in Chennai

EVM malfunction in Gopalapuram in Chennai. Polling halted for the time being

39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu

Over 5.5 crore voters will cast their ballots in Tamil Nadu this time. A total of 845 candidates are in fray of whom 55 are women. Security has been beefed up at all polling booths across the state.

8:05 am: DMK's Dayanidhi Maran is hoping to win the elections in Central Chennai for the third time. Central Chennai is a Muslim dominated and North Indian dominated area. High chances that the North Indians will vote for Modi, which means many votes will go to its alliance DMDK. Maran also faces 2G charges, which may go against him heavily.

8:00 am: Actress Khushboo casts her vote

7:50 am: EVMs in Gopalapuram rectified. Polling starts at 7:45 am, instead of 7:00 am. This is the very place where Karunanidhi and son Stalin are likely to vote from.

7:35 am: Kamal Hassan casts his vote at a polling booth close to his office.

7:30 am: EVM malfunction in Gopalapuram in Chennai. Polling halted for the time being.

7:20 am: Jayalalitha is likely to cast her ballot at the same college. Rajnikant and Jayalalitha reside in the same area.

7.15 am: Superstar Rajnikanth casts his ballot in Chennai. He is the first one to vote. "Everyone should vote," he said after casting his ballot. Dayanidhi Maran and MK Stalin to vote in an hour in the same college-Stella Marie.

7.10 am: Polling begins in Tamil Nadu.

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