Polling in 21 corporations, 138 municipalities and 489 town panchayats in Naduremained by and large peaceful on Saturday, barring a few incidents of malfunctioning of EVMs, complaints of campaigning near polling booths halting the polling process for a while and protests by people demanding that voters be allowed to cast votes after 5pm. The state Election Commission said the Average turnout was 60.7%.
It was business as usual in Chennai with arterial roads witnessing traffic, government buses remaining packed and shopping hubs getting huge footfalls. The state capital recorded just 43.6% polling, lower than 51.6% recorded in 2011. Tension prevailed at Royapuram afterAIADMKandDMKmembers clashed over allegations of Booth Capturing during polling.