Vote Counting Begins for Dharapuram and Thatchanjavady Constituencies
Counting for the Dharapuram Assembly by-election and Thatchanjavady constituency has commenced under heavy security.
The process of counting votes for the Dharapuram Assembly constituency by-election in Tamil Nadu and the Thatchanjavady constituency in Puducherry has officially commenced on Friday. In Dharapuram, the counting is being held at the LRG Government Arts and Science College for Women near the Tiruppur District Collector Office, while in Puducherry, the process is underway at the Motilal Nehru Government Polytechnic College campus.
Dharapuram: High Security and 23 Rounds of Counting
The counting process in Dharapuram is scheduled to span 23 rounds across 14 tables. The counting of postal ballots began at 8 AM, followed by the electronic voting machine (EVM) votes at 8:30 AM. While trends for the leading candidate might emerge around 11 AM, party representatives have cautioned that narrow margins in the final rounds could shift the lead before the official declaration.
Voter Turnout and Key Contenders
The by-election saw a significant turnout of 80.25 per cent, with 1,79,214 voters casting their ballots out of 2,23,306 registered voters. This marks a 9.65 percentage point decline from the previous Assembly election turnout of 89.9 per cent, a trend observers attribute to reduced voter interest in by-elections compared to general elections.
A total of 22 candidates are in the fray, including:
- Sathyabama (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam - TVK)
- Sukanya (DMK)
- Bhanumathi (AIADMK)
- Lakshmanan (Communist Party of India - CPI)
- Karthika (Naam Tamilar Katchi - NTK)
Tight Security Measures in Tiruppur
Security has been heavily fortified in Tiruppur to ensure a smooth process. The following measures are in place:
- Deployment of over 200 police personnel, including central paramilitary and Armed Reserve Police.
- Installation of 64 CCTV cameras for round-the-clock surveillance.
- Construction of five watchtowers around the counting centre.
- Standby presence of bomb disposal teams and Fire and Rescue Services.
The strong room contains 642 ballot units, 321 control units, and 337 VVPAT machines used during the polling held on October 6.
Thatchanjavady: Rapid Counting in Puducherry
In Puducherry, the counting for the Thatchanjavady constituency began at 8 AM at the Motilal Nehru Government Polytechnic College. The constituency recorded an impressive turnout of 80.81 per cent, with 21,756 out of 26,921 eligible voters participating in the polls held on October 6.
The results in Thatchanjavady are expected to be declared as early as 10 AM. The key contenders in this race include:
- Ashok Anand (All India NR Congress - AINRC)
- K. Sethu Selvam (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - DMK)
- E Vinayagam (Congress)