Elections to 38 Lok Sabha seats and bypolls for 18 Assembly segments in Tamil Nadu Thursday ended by and large peacefully and the turnout for Parliamentary polls stood at 70.90 per cent, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said.
The turnout in the 18 assembly segments recorded 71.62 per cent, he told reporters here.
There was no major law and order problems and a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) jawan fired one round in the air to disperse crowds near Arakkonam, the CEO said.
DGP (Elections) Ashutosh Shukla said when the crowds tried to enter a polling station at Kilvisharam under Arakkonam Lok Sabha segment, a CAPF jawan opened one round of fire in the air.
"Superintendent of Police, Vellore rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control," he added.
Minor incidents of violence were reported from five towns, including Gudiyatham and Ariyalur, and the situation was brought under control immediately, he added.
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Police said four BJP men were allegedly injured in a clash with workers of the DMK and Congress in Kanyakumari.
Tamil Nadu had witnessed 73.68 per cent polling in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Namakkal Lok Sabha seat topped the list with a polling of 79.75 per cent while Chennai South was the lowest with 57.43 per cent.
Chennai North (61.76), Chennai Central (57.86) and Sriperumbudur (60.61) on the city outskirts were among the segments that witnessed a comparatively low turnout.
As regards Assembly segments, Harur constituency in Dharmapuri district recorded the highest polling percentage of 86.96 while Sattur in Virudhunagar district registered the lowest (60.87).
On complaints of technical glitches, Sahoo said 375 ballot units, 228 control units and 766 VVPAT were replaced.
"Based on the low replacement rates, we can say the EVM performance has been very good."
Radhakrishnan told reporters in Kanyakumari: "This is a massive democratic festival which will decide the fate of India. I have exercised my franchise... A silent revolution is happening."
AIADMK leader and state minister D Jayakumar said 13 per cent voting in the morning "is a joyous thing."
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T T V Dhinakaran alleged "malfunctioning of EVMs is an achievement of the Modi government."
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