LS polls: Brisk polling underway in Tamil Nadu; 12.55 percent turnout till 9 AM
Chennai (PTI): Brisk polling is underway in Tamil Nadu for the 2024 general election with the state witnessing a 12.55 per cent turnout till 9 AM.
The polling exercise that began at 7 AM on Friday amid tight security arrangements is going on in a quick pace in most of the 39 constituencies spread across the state.
The enthusiasm among first time voters was palpable who hurried to find their names on electoral rolls at makeshift kiosks set up by political parties. Several of them proudly displayed the indelible mark and said they have completed their democratic duty.
Authorities have ensured amenities like drinking water and 'pandal' to provide shade to voters who line up the serpentine queues.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, and his wife Durga Stalin cast their vote at a polling station here. Celebrities including Rajinikanth and Ilaiyaraaja were among the early voters.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Edappadi K Palaniswami voted at a polling station in his home district of Salem.
Argument broke out between voters and officials in some polling stations as authorities did not allow people to carry their smartphones/mobiles inside the booth.
People belonging to Parandhur village with over 1,000 voters near Sriperumbudur did not turn up to vote till 9.30 AM. Residents of villages including Parandhur are opposing an airport project in their region.
Voters arrived at the polling stations enthusiastically as early as 6.30 AM and waited for their turn to vote, with personnel of the state and central police forces standing guard. As many as 190 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed. Some polling stations like Kattuppalli (Tiruvallur) however wore a deserted look.
Voting was delayed by an hour in some polling booths, such as the one near Tambaram coming under Sriperumbudur Lok Sabha segment, due to technical glitches in the electronic voting machines and officials said they were attending to it.
Several voters who lined up the queues said they preferred to cast their votes early in the morning to avoid the 'scorching sun,' later in the day.
In total, 3,32,233 polling personnel have been deployed and 1.3 lakh police personnel are on poll duty.
The fate of 950 candidates will be decided by about 6.23 crore voters who are set to exercise their franchise in 68,321 polling stations.
DMK's Dayanidhi Maran (Central Chennai), A Raja (Nilgiris) and Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi), BJP's K Annamalai (Coimbatore), L Murugan (Nilgiris) and Tamilisai Soundararajan (South Chennai), former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (Ramanathapuram), Congress party's Karti Chidambaram (Sivaganga), AIADMK's J Jayavardhan (South Chennai) and AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran (Theni) are among the prominent candidates.
Political rivals Tamilisai Soundararajan and Premalatha Vijayakanth happened to meet at a polling booth in Saligramam here and hugged each other. After exhanging pleasantries they also posed for photogoraphs.
Polling is underway in neighbouring Puducherry as well where the Congress and BJP are in a direct fight.
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Seek votes on performance of govt instead of indulging in 'hate speeches': Kharge to PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said when the elections are over, people will only remember him as the PM who indulged in "divisive and communal speeches filled with lies" to avoid an inevitable defeat.
Kharge urged the prime minister to seek votes on the performance of his government over the last ten years instead of indulging in "hate speeches".
The Congress president made the remarks in a letter to Prime Minister Modi in which he rebutted the attack and charges levelled against his party in the PM's letter to NDA candidates after the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
Prime Minister Modi has asked the BJP-led NDA candidates in the Lok Sabha polls to spread awareness among voters about the Congress's intention to snatch "reservation from SC, ST and OBC communities and give it away to their vote bank".
In a personal letter written to them, Modi also accused the Congress and its allies of having divisive and discriminatory motives, even though reservation on the basis of religion is unconstitutional.
Writing to Modi, Kharge said, "I saw the letter written by you to all the NDA candidates about what they need to communicate to the voters. From the tone and content of the letter it seems that there is a lot of desperation and worry in you which is leading you to use language that does not suit the office of the Prime Minister."
"The letter makes it look like the lies in your speeches are not having the effect you intended and now you want your candidates to amplify your lies. Repeating a lie a thousand times will not make it the truth," he said.
The Congress chief said the voters are intelligent enough to read and understand by themselves what the Congress has written in its manifesto and what guarantees it has promised.
"Our guarantees are so simple and clear, that we don’t have to explain it to them. For your benefit, I will reiterate them here," Kharge said in his letter and elaborated on the party's Yuva Nyay, Nari Nyay, Kisan Nyay, Shramik Nyay and Hissedari Nyay.
"We have heard you and the Home Minister say that Congress is practising appeasement politics. The only appeasement policy that we have seen in the last 10 years is the appeasement of Chinese by you and your ministers. Even today, you refuse to call China as 'Ghuspaithiye', instead on June 19, 2020, you said 'Na Koi Ghusa Hai, Na Hi Koi Ghus Aaya hai', insulting the supreme sacrifice of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan," the Congress chief said.
"Your public 'Clean Chit' to China, has weakened India's case and made it more belligerent. Even as tensions escalate due to repeated Chinese transgressions and construction of military infrastructure near LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Uttarakhand, the imports of Chinese goods to India has increased by 54.76 per cent in the past 5 years alone and has crossed USD 101 billion in 2023-24," he said.
Noting that the PM in his letter to NDA candidates had claimed that reservation will be taken away from SC, ST and OBC and given to the Congress' votebank, Kharge said, "Our votebank is every Indian -- the poor, the marginalised, the women, the aspirational youth, the labour class, the Dalits and the Adivasis. Everyone knows it is the RSS and BJP who opposed reservations at every stage since 1947."
"Your leaders have openly spoken about it. You need to clarify why you are opposed to reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs on the basis of their population as per Article 16 of our Constitution," Kharge said.
"In your letter, you have said people's hard-earned money will be snatched and given away. I would like to take this opportunity to request you to direct your party to return the Rs 10 crore that were swindled from the poor Dalit farmers in Gujarat and given as electoral bonds to BJP," Kharge said.
He accused the BJP of amassing Rs 8,250 crore through the "illegal and unconstitutional" Electoral Bonds.
He said Modi's letter "lies" that Congress wants to bring Inheritance Tax when it is a former BJP Finance Minister and BJP party leaders who have repeatedly mentioned they want Inheritance Tax.
"I see from your letter that you are worried by the low turnout of voters in the first two phases of the elections. It shows people are not enthusiastic about your policies or your campaign speeches. This is not because of the summer heat, but because the poor have been burnt by your policies," the Congress chief said.
Kharge claimed the prime minister was not interested in talking about the ever widening inequality, unemployment and unprecedented price rise, that is affecting the people.
"You are not interested in talking about the increasing atrocities on women by your leaders," he said in his letter to Modi.
The Congress' manifesto speaks of 'Nyay' and how it will bring growth for all sections of the society, Kharge said.
"It is better as the prime minister if you seek votes on the performance of your government over the last ten years instead of indulging in hate speeches. The Congress Party would like to challenge you or anyone you depute to debate with us on our manifesto and the points you have made," he said.
"As I mentioned in my earlier letter, when the elections are over, people will only remember you as the prime minister who indulged in divisive and communal speeches filled with lies to avoid an inevitable defeat," Kharge said.
