Chennai: The second and final phase of the
local body polls in Tamil Nadu passed off peacefully, barring
a few stray incidents.
Over 68 per cent of polling was recorded till 3 PM and
Tamil Nadu State Election Commission officials said the
percentage will go up as the polling comes to its end.
Karur witnessed a record 77 per cent polling till 3 PM,
followed by Salem and Namakkal registering 75 per cent and
Madurai and Erode 73 per cent.
The final phase covered over 1.31 crore voters from
across 65 municipal corporations, 31 district panchayats, 270
town panchayats, 194 panchayat unions, 50 third grade
municipalities and 12,000 village panchayats.
Polling was held amid tight security with over 80,000
police personnel manning the polling booths across the state
to ensure free and fair polls.
Reports said rival factions clashed at a few places. A
report from Dharmapuri said two persons, including a
65-year-old man, died after suffering a heart attack while
awaiting their turn to cast vote.
The first phase of polling was held on October 17 and
counting of votes for both phases is scheduled on Friday.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 10:01