From missing names to EC complaints, how #Elections2019 unfolded in Tamil Nadu

With polling Tamil Nadu coming to an end, the day remained largely peaceful, with only a couple of minor scuffles between parties and the Election Commission. Several voters also found their names missing from the voter list.

In Chennai, 18-year-old J Smrithi would have been a first time voter if her name was on the list. “I even visited the corporation office several times, but no luck,” said her father S Jagan. Several other voters alleged that they were turned away as they did not get booth slips. This slip is informal piece of paper that simply contains the serial number of the voter, making it easy for officials to find the voter’s name on the list. Without the slip, the official will take more time to find the name.

Compared to the 2014 general elections, the voter turnout dipped in Tamil Nadu this year. In the 2014 elections, 73.74 per cent of the state’s electorate came out to vote. This year, the number dropped to 70.90 per cent.

And as usual, Chennai once again proved that it’s the most reluctant district to vote. Mostly rural districts seem take their democratic rights more seriously than their urban counterparts. The trends began to show just two hours after polling began. At 9 am, when the state average was around 30 per cent, with some districts like Arani touching 36 per cent, only 22.89 per cent voted from Chennai Central. This constituency includes posh localities like Nungambakkam and Poes Garden, home of actor Rajnikanth and the late J Jayalalithaa.

Through the day, as polling figures improved, Chennai still lagged behind. At the end of the day, some 69.55 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s 5.99 crore (this number includes voters in Vellore, where the elections were cancelled) came to vote. The three constituencies in the state capital—North, South and Central—polled 61.76, 57.43 and 57.86 per cent respectively. These numbers were released at 9 pm. Chennai Central had the lowest voter turnout in the state, while 79.75 per cent polled in Namakkal—the highest.

Historically, Tamil Nadu is know to give incumbent parties a run for their money by giving landslide victories to the opposing team. The 2016 state assembly win for J Jayalalithaa was the first since 1984 that a chief minister came back to power twice consequently. And despite the comparatively low voter turnout in Chennai, the anger against the governing party in the Centre was palpable throughout. “They took our money (demonetisation) and gave us NEET and student suicides. I don’t feel safe in Tamil Nadu, especially after the Pollachi sexual assault case,” said Violet Mary, a voter from Teynampet. Surya, a 15-year-old who came with her, couldn’t vote but had strong opinions on the same subject.

No election is complete without the two major parties shooting off letters to the Election Commission. On Thursday, the AIADMK was the first, complaining that MK Stalin had violated the Model Code of Conduct by addressing the media after casting his vote at SIET College. The party accused him of making “false and frivolous allegations” against the state and central governments. The AIADMK wrote a similar letter complaining about the DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran speaking to the media after he voted, saying Maran had requested “the general public to cast their vote for change of government” which is “a clear indication to the voters to cast in his favour”.

Not one to miss a beat, the DMK wrote a letter to the Election Commission saying the Tamil Nadu police were helping the governing party to capture booths. The DMK accused the police of switching off CCTV cameras at polling booths after 3 pm.

The Election Commission also said 375 ballot units, 228 control units and 766 VVPATs were rejected during the polls. The chief electoral officer Satyabrata Sahoo did not immediately answer why.