Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 23 : Tiruppu District Election Officer Manish on Thursday expressed hopes of a high voter turnout in Tiruppur in the ongoing polling for Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
Speaking with ANI, Manish reflected on the arrangements made to ensure an efficient voting process, including deployment of women polling officers, green polling stations and special facilities for differently abled voters.
"Polling has started from 7am to 6pm. We are expecting very good turnout. We have 8 model polling stations manned by women polling officials. We have made 'green' polling stations also. At all polling stations there is facility of wheelchairs and volunteers and also to & fro transportation facility for voters with disabilities," he said.
Manish further encouraged the first-time voters to exercise their franchise, stating, "Our first-time voters must vote. To welcome new voters, we have kept gifts or sweets."
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu witnessed massive voter turnout in Assembly polls on Thursday, recording 62.18 per cent and 56.81 per cent respectively at 1 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
In Tamil Nadu, the highest turnout of 62.97 per cent was in Tiruppur district, followed by Namakkal at 62.51 per cent, then Erode at 61.97 per cent. Chennai district registered a turnout of 54.58 per cent, Coimbatore at 58.24 per cent and Madurai at 54.75 per cent. The lowest voter turnout was recorded in the Nilgiris at 50.42 per cent.
Polling for the 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and 152 constituencies in West Bengal began amid tight security this morning. The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today.
Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik said that the state's electorate comprises over 5.73 crore voters, featuring 2,93,04,905 female voters, 2,80,30,658 male voters, and 7,728 third-gender voters. The poll body is also catering to 14,59,039 first-time voters and 68,501 service voters, with 4,18,541 postal votes already received. Furthermore, 62 counting centres have already been established to ensure a smooth process after the high-stakes voting concludes.
The main contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes the Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies.
Polling in the remaining constituencies in West Bengal is slated for May 29, and counting of votes will take place on May 4.