Tamil Nadu recorded 39.49 per cent voting till 1 pm in 38 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state, with Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK chief M K Stalin among the early voters.
Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said the state recorded 39.49 per cent voting till 1 PM, with Namakkal registering the highest of 41.56 and Kanyakumari the minimum of 37.2 per cent.
In the bypolls in 18 Assembly segments, the polling percentage was 42.92.
Sahoo said the polling exercise has been going on peacefully all over the state.
As many as 384 EVMs and 692 VVPATs were changed spread over 66,167 polling stations across Tamil Nadu over technical issues, he said.
Sahoo said that even if voters did not have the voter's slip, they could still vote since it was not one of the 12 documents mandated for voting.
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The slips were only meant to identify the elector's polling station and their serial number on poll rolls, he said.
Meanwhile, chaotic scenes unfolded at the Koyambedu bus terminus here when a considerable number of commuters arrived to travel to their native districts on account of "continuous holidays" till Sunday (Friday is a holiday for Good Friday).
Operation of "inadequate buses" was the reason for the choatic situation, they claimed.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK chief M K Stalin waited in queues at Edappadi in Salem district and Chennai, respectively and cast their votes.
After casting his vote, Stalin alleged that there has been distribution of cash and accused the Election Commission of being an "ally" of central and state governments.
Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan, DMK's Dayanidhi Maran and Kanimozhi and Karti Chidambaram of Congress are among key contenders.
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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