AGE NO BAR: An ailing old woman coming to the polling booth to cast her vote in the by-election to the Madurai Central Assembly Constituency. — Photo: G. Moorthy

MADURAI: Amidst tight security, polling for the Madurai Central Assembly constituency concluded on a peaceful note here on Wednesday.

The District Election Officer and Collector, T. Udhayachandran, estimated the voting in the by-election at 70 per cent. There was no written complaint with regard to bogus voting from any political party. Voters whose names figured in ration cards were allowed to vote after the head of the family identified them, he said.

"A few voters came to the polling stations but refused to vote. There is no demand for a re-poll in any booth as of now. The polling went off incident-free, thanks to the efforts taken by officials, political party functionaries and voters. The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) would be moved to counting centres tonight," he told reporters.

Long queues

Voters were seen thronging the polling stations since early morning. As the day progressed, longer queues were witnessed at many booths. Voting at two booths, Mangayarkarasi School and Arya Vaisya School, was delayed for more than 30 minutes as the EVMs developed a snag. They were later replaced.

A three-tier security system was in place at all the 154 polling stations in the constituency. While armed police personnel attached to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) formed the inner layer, local police were positioned in the outer circle. Three companies of the Karnataka Armed Special Force were deployed around the constituency.

Bomb detection and disposal squads made a thorough check of the stations before polling began. The police sealed all roads leading to the constituency, and vehicles were allowed in only after they were checked.

The Inspector General of Police (South Zone) and Commissioner (in-charge), Sanjeev Kumar, supervised the bandobast.

With the police restricting movement of four-wheelers in the constituency, cadres of political parties chose to ride on motorbikes and mopeds in groups. The Madurai MP, P. Mohan, was among the earliest to cast his vote at the A. Alagusundaram Memorial Middle School.

19 candidates in fray

A total of 19 candidates are in the fray to the fill the vacancy created by the demise of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister, P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan. The main contest is between S.S. Ghouse Basha of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and V.V. Rajan Chellappa of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Mr. Rajan Chellappa sought a re-poll in booth numbers 59 and 60 located in the Arya Vaisya School alleging that the DMK cadres had resorted to "large scale bogus voting."

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