Polling starts in TN amidst EVM glitches, voting delayed in some booths

Sources said the polling process was delayed by at least one hour in a few booths in Tamil Nadu owing to technical glitches in the EVMs

As part of the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in the country, polling began on Thursday morning in 38 Parliamentary Constituencies in Tamil Nadu. 

Sources said the polling process was delayed by at least one hour in a few booths in Tamil Nadu owing to technical glitches in the Electronic Voting Machines. Polling for Parliamentary Constituencies and by-poll for 18 Assembly Constituencies are being held in Tamil Nadu simultaneously. Voting was delayed in various constituencies including Choolaimedu, Guindy, Ashok Nagar, and Virugambakkam among others in Chennai, according to sources. 

In some booths in Chennai, voters who appeared without booth slips were not allowed to enter, which escalated tension.

Polling for the two elections is otherwise going on as normal, with many political leaders, candidates and eminent personalities casting their votes in the morning. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan, and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, apart from eminent film stars Rajinikanth, Ajith and Vijay voted in the morning.

While TN has 39 Parliamentary Constituencies, the election for the Vellore Constituency was rescinded by President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday after authorities seized unaccounted money from one of the political parties there. While polling will be held till 6 pm in other constituencies, it will go on till 8 pm in Madurai, where voters would also attend the Chithirai festival.

Votes are being cast in a total of 66,699 polling stations, which includes 936 model polling stations, said Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo. The Election Commission has declared 8,200 booths as sensitive and vulnerable. Around 1.4 lakh security officials have been posted across the state.