Counting underway for Vellore Lok Sabha amid high security

Counting of votes for Vellore Lok Sabha is underway amid high security. Counting of postal ballots will be done first, followed by those registered on EVMs. There are 28 contestants in the fray but the main contest is between AC Shanmugam of the AIADMK and DMK Kathir Anand of the DMK. Anand is the son of senior party leader Durai Murugan.

The polling on this Lok Sabha seats was originally scheduled on April 18 but it was called off after Rs 10 crore was seized by income tax officials from DMK leader’s possession in the district. It was then held on August 5 and nearly 72 per cent polling was recorded in this parliamentary seat.

The voting went peaceful and there were no untoward incidents even as there were some reports of EVMs and VVPATs malfunctioning.

“About 72 per cent” of the total 14.32 lakh voters cast their votes in the six Assembly constituencies covered under the Vellore Lok Sabha segment, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata Sahoo had said.

The poll outcome is being keenly awaited as a win for the AIADMK would be seen as an endorsement of Chief Minister K Palaniswami’s two-year rule, although the party had little to boast of in the April 18 polls.

If DMK wins, it will be perceived as a verdict against the ruling party, with the state poised to face the general elections in 2021 at the end of the current term.

Both Palaniswami and Stalin had embarked on a hectic campaign schedule, fighting hard to reaffirm their respective parties’ dominance.

Earlier, the DMK-led alliance had swept the April 18 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, winning 37 constituencies in the state and the lone segment in the neighbouring Puducherry.

With PTI Inputs