TN live: 73% turnout recorded while Puducherry reaches 82%

7.41 pm: Tamil Nadu sees 73 percent turnout as polling closes According to unofficial estimates the average polling in Tamil Nadu will be about 73, same as in 2009. In neighbouring Puducherry, the voting percentage touched 80. The polling was hectic right from the morning till noon and it rose again after 3 pm. The rush of early voters saw the voting crossing 35 percent by 11 pm. By 5 pm, the turnout touched 65-70 percent in many constituencies.No untoward incidents have been reported in the state. An important feature of the 2014 elections in the state is the enthusiastic participation by the new and young voters. Out of the 5.5 voters, about 1.5 were new and they thronged the polling stations in large numbers. Many of them decorated their Facebook pages with pictures of their fingers marked with the indelible ink. There were a lot of “group selfies” of the inked fingers as well. 4.55 pm: Tamil Nadu voting average by 60 percent In Tamil Nadu, the average voting has crossed 60 percent by 3 pm. Officials said by 1 pm, the average voting was 47.19, with Virudhunagar recording 58.74 per cent. The lowest turnout was in Central Chennai, where only 35 per cent had voted by 1 pm. In Pondicherry, 67 per cent of the voters had cast their votes by 3 pm. 1.13 pm: Hectic voting across Tamil Nadu Hectic voting has been reported in all the 39 constituencies across Tamil Nadu. By 11 am about 35 percent of the voters had exercised their franchise. No untoward incident has been reported except for the minor glitches in voting machines, which delayed the voting. In most constituencies, the voter-turnout was close to 35 per cent while in places such as Perambalur, Thanjavur and Karur, it almost touched 40 percent. In Chennai, senior politicians and film personalities voted early in the day. Chief minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK chief Karunanidhi and his son MK Stalin, superstar Rajnikanth and actors such as Kamal Haasan, Ajit and Vijay voted in different polling stations in the city. Long queues were visible in most parts of the city at 7 am itself, when the polling opened. A notable feature of the day was the enthusiasm of young voters. In most constituencies, large number of young people turned up to exercise their newly acquired right. Out of the 5.5 crore voters, about 1.5 crore are new voters. Unlike in the past, voting will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; people who have turned up before 6 p.m., but unable to vote will be given tokens and permitted to vote. After casting her vote, Jayalalithaa asked political parties and people to cooperate with the Election Commission. MDMK’s Vaiko, who is contesting from Virudhunagar, said this time the BJP-front will put an end to the alternation between the DMK and AIADMK. In total, 845 candidates are contesting in 39 constituencies, which has 60817 polling booths. 11.26 pm: 14 percent turnout in Tamil Nadu 10.00 am: Dayanidhi Maran casts vote in Chennai central with son in tow The DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran who is up against AIADMK’s SR Vijayakumar has cast his vote in Chennai central. He won the seat comfortably in 2009. Maran, in fact, made his political debut after the death of his father Murasoli Maran. He won his debut 2004 Lok Sabha polls by contesting from this constituency. He is now seeking a third term and is widely expected to win.  9.55 am: Chidambaram calls Modi wave only empty rhetoric Outgoing finance minister P Chidambaram, casting his vote in Sivaganga Tamil Nadu may be on his way out, but did not lose the opportunity to take few potshots at Narendra Modi and the BJP. Scathingly saying that the BJP had ’no chance’ in Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram said that Modi was largely rhetoric and little substance. “Four P’s… three T’s…. listen to him. It’s just empty rhetoric, where is the substance?” he asked. 9.00 am: Jayalalithaa casts vote Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa dressed in a deep wine coloured sari has cast her vote in Chennai. “I request all political parties and general public to cooperate with the election commission of India to ensure a free and fair election”, she said. She added that she would refrain from further comment until the election results were declared. Most of the VIPs in Chennai, including chief minister J Jayalalithaa, former chief minister M Karunanidhi and his son MK Stalin, and actor Rajinikanth, have their votes in the various polling booths of the central Chennai constituency. In all polling stations in the city,  lot of youngsters are queuing up. Throughout the state about 1.5 crore new voters are expected to exercise their franchise. 8.45 am: Kamal Haasan casts vote in Teynampet Acator Kamal Haasan voted at a polling booth Teynampet. He urged people to vote. To a question on whom he voted for, the actor said he could not reveal his mind. A good move, given the symbiotic relationship between Tamil Nadu’s movie and its political industries. No one wants to incur the wrath of anyone else, and Haasan has himself witnessed the ill effects of political disfavour first hand, when his movie Vishwaroopam was stalled across the state, resulting in the loss of crores of rupees. Meanwhile all polling booths in Chennai witnessed long queues where people have been waiting patiently since 7 am to excercise their democratic franchise. There has in fact been a concerted campaign by the Election Commission to induce the people of the city to go out and vote. According to a report in The Hindu, A concerted campaign by the Election Commission and consistent media attention on various issues of governance are expected to play a crucial role in increasing voter turnout even in the city. Factors such as “cleaner electoral rolls, interest generated by the candidates and the Election Commission’s efforts to motivate people to vote,” are at work, says former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N. Gopalaswami. 8.00 am: Rajinikanth votes, tells people of Tamil Nadu to do the same Mind it! Tamil Nadu’s super star Rajinikanth has been captured at the polling booth and has asked the people of Tamil Nadu to go out and vote. If that doesn’t contribute to a record turnout in the state, we don’t know what will! He refused to say which party he was supporting, saying that he didn’t support anyone. Rajinikangth’s last political meeting however, was with BJP candidate Narendra Modi who even donned a veshti for the occasion! The state’s political superstar Jayalalithaa is expected to vote in Chennai South and tight security arrangements are underway in anticipation of her arrival. In Chennai central, the bastion of Dayanidhi Maran, brisk polling is under way despite a slight glitch at one of the polling stations where the EVM didn’t work. 7.08 am: Tamil Nadu goes to polls, will Jayalalithaa achieve her national dreams? Voting has begun for Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats along with the Union territory of Puducherry. AIADMK President and state Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who has been projecting herself as a contender for a key national role, is widely expected to do well although she may face some stiff competition from arch rival M Karunanidhi’s DMK as well as the six-party BJP-DMDK-MDMK-PMK combine in the state. All 40 seats - TN and Puducherry - will complete polling in one day. The Tamil Nadu contest is interesting because whoever wins at the national level may need the support of one or the other of the Tamil parties. What the polls say: A CNN-IBN CSDS-Lokniti poll has projected an AIADMK win with 15-21 seats, while both DMK and BJP-DMDK alliances expected to win around 6-10 seats apiece. This is bound to be less than satisfactory for Amma, especially given that she has made no secret of the fact that she intends to play a much larger national role in the next government. For her to do so, she will need to do much better than this tally. There is slightly better news for her in the recently concluded NDTV-Hansa poll tracker though. According to these results, the AIADMK will win 25 of the state’s 39 parliamentary seats, which is 16 more than it got in the last election. Karunanidhi’s DMK will win 11 seats, and the BJP-combine will win two to three seats. However, she will be aiming for a higher tally in the state, given that she has made her national ambitions clear in the lead up to polling. This could also explain why she has been pitting herself against Narendra Modi and comparing the ‘Gujarat model’ to the ‘Tamil Nadu’ model of development. [caption id=“attachment_1493521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] Key regions: According to the CSDS poll tracker, North Tamil Nadu is witnessing a close contest between the AIADMK, DMK and BJP. AIADMK is leading in the Cauvery delta, while the DMK is in the second place. In Western TN, the AIADMK is leading and the Congress is doing quite well and in southern TN it is a close fight between the AIADMK, DMK and BJP alliance. Key constituencies and candidate battles: Mayiladuthurai in Nagapattinam will witness a battle between Congress’ Mani Shankar Iyer, who is pitted against the DMK-front’s S Hyder Ali (MMK). Aiyar had lost to AIADMK’s OS Maniyan by 36,854 votes from the same seat in 2009. Given the anti-Congress mood in the state, especially over the Sri Lanka issue, it is likely that he will lose again. Chennai Central: DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran, who has been implicated in the Aircel-Maxis scam, will take on AIADMK’s SR Vijayakumar. He won the seat comfortably in 2009. Maran, in fact, made his political debut after the death of his father Murasoli Maran. He won his debut 2004 Lok Sabha polls by contesting from this constituency. He is now seeking a third term and is widely expected to win. Nilgiris: Former telecom minister A Raja (DMK), of 2G scam infamy, will take on AIADMK’s C Gopalakrishnan. He is widely expected to win the seat, despite the fact that he is being seen as the villain of the piece of the entire 2G scam. The BJP candidate had the ignominy of seeing his nomination papers rejected by the Election Commission for failing to give some details. Virudhunagar: MDMK leader (BJP-front) Vaiko will fight Congress’s Manickam Tagore in a rematch of the 2009 polls. Tagore was the winner last time by a margin of 15,764 votes. Whether Vaiko will come out on top this time around, remains to be seen. Sivaganga: In 2009, Sivaganaga was perhaps the most controversial seat of the election, when current finance minister P Chidambaram defeated AIADMK’s Raja Kannappan by a wafer thin margin of 3,354 votes - after trailing all the way till the end. Kannappan claimed that he had been initially declared the winner, but the result was changed to favour Chidambaram. The case in winding its way through the courts even though the term of the Lok Sabha is over. Chidambaram is not contesting this time, and the Congress has fielded his son Karti Chidambaram. He chances are not rated very high.