CHENNAI: Turnout is normally higher in rural areas, but this time urban voters have narrowed the gap.According to Election Commission data at 9pm, barring a few constituencies in Chennai district, more than 35 seats across 50 urban centres recorded an increase in absolute voter numbers, ranging from 800 to 48,000, over 2021.
In the 2021 election, Palacode, a rural constituency in Dharmapuri district, recorded the highest turnout at 87%, while ChepaukTriplicane in Chennai, one of the state’s most urban constituencies, recorded just 59%. This time the percentages are 92.57% and 84.34% respectively. The gap has clearly narrowed.The urban constituency of Karur, which also had the most contestants at 79, topped the turnout list with 93.40% up from 84.13% in 2021.
Karur has always been hotly contested being the political turf of V Senthilbalaji and M R Vijayabaskar, who were rivals in theAIADMK before the former shifted to DMK.Kumarapalayam, represented by former AIADMK minister P Thangamani, posted the highest turnout among rural constituencies at 93%.Among urban seats, Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district recorded the lowest turnout at 74.73%.The rise in turnout across urban and rural constituencies points to a significant clean-up of electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision conducted earlier this year.
Even so, the absolute number of voters rose only marginally in both segments.“It is exactly a normal election with a certain degree of excitement among a particular age group over a new player. Respective party votes, the entry of TVK, and above all the distribution of cash for votes are also reasons for the turnout,” said psephologist Arun Krishnamurthy.More than 30 rural constituencies recorded turnout above 90%, marking a sharp rise from the previous election.
Urban constituencies such as Salem South at 91% and Tirupur South at 90.71% also registered notable gains.“Intense mobilisation by the local leadership of AIADMK and DMK in the western belt, coupled with huge spending, resulted in high turnout. However, the increased poll percentage in urban areas should be attributed to the SIR,” said psephologist R Venkataramani.The rise in urban turnout pushed the state’s average voter turnout to 85%.
