CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ MADURAI l saturday l april 20, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION Home secy’s circular sparks row, withdrawn 72.09% provisional polling figure for TN in the three-way contest among DMK, AIADMK & BJP was slightly lower than 72.47% recorded in 2019. While 33 seats in TN polled more than 70%, Puducherry logged 78.56%. Except for minor EVM glitches, the polls were largely incident-free 72.09% TN voters ink fingers, Chennai retains ‘laggard’ tag T M u r u g a n a n dh a m @ Chennai Amid heatwave-like conditions searing large parts of the state, Tamil Nadu peacefully completed voting in its 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, barring minor skir mishes and EVM glitches in some places, with a provisional voter turnout of 72.09% as of 7pm on Friday. The figure might be revised as voters in queues at polling booths as of 6pm were still casting their ballot. The three seats in Chennai district recorded the lowest turnout in TN. Briefing reporters at the secretariat, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said that Flying Squad Teams and Static Surveillance Teams will be dismantled in the state, an announcement that would give much relief to traders, farmers and jewellers. However, the teams will continue to be stationed in the border areas of the neighbouring states where elections are not yet over. The provisional voting figure this year was slightly lower than 2019’s turnout of 72.47%. A comparison of provisional polling data in all 39 constituencies in the current elections against the turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections suggests as many as 25 constituencies express read Madras HC order on child porn: SC reserves verdict New Delhi: “A child watching porn may not be an offence but children being used in pornography is a matter of ‘serious’ concern and may be an offence,” the Supreme Court said on Friday. The SC has reserved its verdict on an appeal filed against a Madras HC order that quashed the case against a Chennai man, saying that watching of child porn is not an offence Indian airlines cancel, reschedule Dubai flights New Delhi: Air India, Air India Express and SpiceJet either cancelled or rescheduled their services to Dubai following restrictions issued by the busy airport there following unprecedented floods. While Air India cancelled all its flights to and from Dubai, citing continued operational disruptions, Air India Express and IndiGo cancelled some of their services | P9 may have polled fewer votes this year while 14 seats may have polled more votes. Of the 39 constituencies, 33 have polled more than 70% votes with Kallakurichi topping the list (75.67%) followed by Dharmapuri (75.44%) and Chidamabaram (74.87%). Chennai Central saw the lowest turnout of 67.35%. Sahoo said polling was peaceful except a few stray incidents. A very low percentage of EVMs had to be replaced due to technical issues, he added. He said postal ballots are yet to be added to the overall votes polled. He pointed out that the provisional voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in TN stood at only 69% suggesting a rise in votes polled this year. Stating that voter turnout increased between 3pm to 6pm due to the high temperatures seen in many parts of TN, he said the final polling percentage would be announced on Saturday . Asked if repolling would be conducted anywhere, the CEO said it would depend on the reports to be filed by the presiding officers, observers and political parties. So far, only one complaint had been received on the functioning of EVMs and the report of the district poll officer had been sought, he said. More reports on p2,3,4,6 Tribals brave 10km hilly terrain to fulfil democratic duty I did my democratic duty to protect the country. First-time voters should vote with enthusiasm. Future of India is in your hands As complaints galore about affluent and educated people owning cars and vehicles in cities failing in their duty to cast votes, about 100 tribal men and women walked for nearly 10km through hostile terrain to exercise their franchise at a polling booth at Thirumoorthy tribal settlement in Udumalaipet on Friday In a poignant . exemplar of the political awareness at the grassroots level, the tribals skipped their breakfast and walked for more than four hours amid sweltering heat to fulfill their democratic responsibility . According to sources, Thirumoorthy Hills, which comes under Pollachi Lok Sabha constituency has one polling booth , for five tribal settlements of Kurumalai, Mel Kurumalai, Poochikottamparai, Isaltattu and Thirumoorthi. A total of 668 voters reside in these settlements. Tribals of Mel Kurumalai and Poochikottamparai have to travel more than 10km across mountainous slopes to reach the polling booth. They had to walk in groups to protect themselves from animal attacks and have to walk back home after everyone in the group had cast their vote. More than 600 families reside in these four tribal settlements. Most of the families own small land patches. This is the festival of democracy. I am immensely happy and proud. This mark (inked finger) is the most beautiful insignia of a citizen. R N Ravi, TN Governor Today is a great day for democracy. This is the day to decide who will fight for our rights and protect our democracy K Palaniswami, AIADMK general secy We are extremely confident. People will repose their trust in good people and good governance K Annamalai, BJP state president Continued on p5 Air taxis: Fly from Delhi to Gurgaon in 7 minutes E X P RESS NE W S SERVI C E @ New Delhi GET ready to travel from Central Delhi (Connaught Place) to Gurugram (Gurgaon) in Haryana in just 7 minutes as InterGlobe Enterprises, the promoter g roup of IndiGo, and US-based Archer Aviation plans to launch an all-electric air taxi service in 2026. The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft will be able to carry four passengers and a pilot. The cost could be `2,000-3,000 per passenger. At present, it takes an hour to cover the 27-km distance from Central Delhi to Gurugram by road, and it could take more time if the traffic conditions are bad. Uber and Ola charge `500-800, while Delhi Metro takes 50 minutes and charges `50 to travel between Representational photo the two locations. Similar services will be launched in Mumbai and Bengaluru as well. Archer will supply 200 eVTOL aircraft for services in India. The 200 planes will cost around $1 billion. The regulatory nod is expected next year. Archer Aviation Founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said talks are on with the US Federal Aviation Administration and the certification process is at an advanced stage. The US certification is expected next year and the DGCA will then be approached. Smooth and silent These operate like helicopters but with less noise. The plane will have 6 battery packs, which will take about 40 minutes to fully charge. One minute charge means one minute of flight Going gets tough for Tejasvi Surya D e v a r a j B H i r e h a l l i @ Bengaluru Tejasvi Surya is a powerful orator and the national president of the BJP Yuva Morcha. Yet, the sitting Bengaluru South MP hasn’t campaigned elsewhere, as he is facing a really tough fight. His challenger is Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy, daughter of state transport minister Ramalinga Reddy . Speculation is rife that hawala cash is flowing like water in this prestigious constituency When Elec. tion Commission officials recently seized `1.4 crore from a car, Sowmya blamed on the BJP. Tejaswi Surya (33) promptly lobbed the ball back demanding an impartial probe. This political potboiler will reach its climax on April 26, when voters will give their verdict. Ramalinga Reddy represents BTM Layout in the assembly Sowmya was . elected Jayanagara MLA in 2018 by failed to retain it by a whisker in 2023. Of the eight assembly segments in this constituency five , are with the BJP and three with the Congress. But that isn’t giv- ing Surya much comfort. Since Karnataka is the home turf of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the party is pulling out all the stops to wrest as many seats as possible, hence the candidature of the Reddy scion. Reddy’s bonhomie with leaders cutting across party lines, including the BJP, and the respect he commands from the common folk is visible. The Congress feels he could go past the party’s traditional vote bank and catch the floating votes to tilt the scales. Reddy is tapping all channels, including former BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) corporators to get them on his side. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already campaigned extensively in the seat to consolidate the AHINDA votes — shorthand for minorities, backward classes and Dalits. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, too, asked the Vokkaligas to treat Sowmya as his daughter and bless her. A major chunk of the Teluguspeaking populace, including the Reddys and Naidus, would favour Sowmya, but the Kannada-speaking Vokkaligas in Bengaluru South are uneasy, observes a resident, Swami Gowda. “A major section of Vokkaligas who migrated from Mandya district to Bengaluru South are with the JDS. They are likely to support Surya, a Brahmin, who is the BJPJD(S) alliance candidate,” he opines. But Suryanarayana, a shopkeeper at Mavalli area, has a different take. “Many voters who claimed to be with the BJP in the past may change their position as the situation is fluid this time around,” he says. This constituency was a BJP citadel for over three decades. It was represented by former Union minister Ananth Kumar in the Lok Sabha for five terms before his untimely demise in 2018. Illustration: Mandar Pardikar 28% Tamil Nadu voters fail to turn up On Top IN voting (%) At Bottom Continued on: P5 Kallakurichi 75.67% 1 Chennai Central 67.35% Dharmapuri 75.44% 2 3 Chennai South 67.82% Chidambaram 74.87% S a r ava n a n M P @ Tiruppur M K Stalin, Chief Minister 2 4 74.46% 4 Chennai North 69.26% Perambalur Madurai 68.98% A circular issued by TN home secretary P Amudha stating that one casual leave or earned leave will be deducted if staff fail to cast their votes sparked a row. The circular was later withdrawn 3 voters die in three separate incidents Three voters died in three separate incidents in polling booths on Friday. R Chinnaponnu (77) and N Palaniswamy (65), were from Salem, K Kanagaraj (70), was from Tiruttani Heat wave sweeps TN, Erode sizzles at 43˚C Heat wave swept TN on Friday with Erode recording the highest of 43˚C. Places with temperature in excess of 41˚C included Vellore (41.9), Karur (41.5), Tiruchy (41.3), Tiruttani (41.2) and Salem (41.2) Moderate polling in 1st phase Exp r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday — covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories — witnessed a moderate 62% voter turnout. The figure is expected to go up after reports come in from all polling booths. It was the biggest of the seven-phase festival of democracy . There were reports of sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal, the strife-torn Man i p u r, N a g a l a n d a n d Chhattisgarh. Elections were held for all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, all five seats in Uttarakhand, 12 seats in Rajasthan, five in Maharashtra, and all seats in the Northeastern states and three Union Territories. Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim were also held simultaneously . Billed as the world’s largest electoral exercise, elections for the 18th Lok Sabha is crucial for the BJP as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term in office. Riding on populist welfare schemes such as free ration, housing schemes and construction of the Ram temple, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance aims to reach the 400-seat mark in the 543-strong Lok Sabha. The Opposition’s INDIA bloc, which is looking to dislodge the BJP from power, projects the rising employment, inflation and rural distress as the main issues to attack the government. One of the keenly watched contests is Tamil Nadu, where the BJP is hoping to make significant gains. All eyes are on Coimbatore, where the BJP has fielded state chief K Annamalai. The election to the eight states in Western Uttar Pradesh is also crucial for the saffron party as it is facing trouble from upper caste communities and farmers. Other high profile candidates who are seeking the mandate in the first phase include Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Sarbananda Sonowal. The second phase of voting for 89 seats in 13 states will be held on April 26 and the seventh and last phase on June 1. The counting of votes will be on June 4.
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