The day-long polling for the Tamil Nadu Assembly today has, in general, been conducted in a free and fair manner with no major untoward incidents, according to the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr Praveen Kumar.

There were some stray instances of violence . No cases of impersonation were reported, he said.

Based on projections, the voter turnout could be about 75-80 per cent. The final numbers are expected around midnight as polling was still on in a number of booths till late in the evening.

On a total voter base of about 4.59 crore this is one of the highest voter turnouts for the Assembly elections. In 2006, over 70 per cent votes were cast.

Mr Kumar attributed the high turnout to the awareness programme conducted by the Election Commission, the campaign by political parties and the people's sense of responsibility.

Violence was reported in Neyveli in one booth where the electronic voting machine (EVM) had been damaged. A repoll will be ordered, he said.

EVM malfunctions were reported in 65 cases, and 11 machines were set right and alternative units were used in 54. There were concerns of poll boycott in four locations but the issue was sorted out in two cases. In two locations in Thiruvidaimarudur over 1,300 voters had boycotted due to confusion relating to voting centres.

Mr Kumar said about Rs 45 crore has been seized by the authorities as part of checks to prevent bribery of voters. About Rs 5.53 crore has been returned to the owners based on available documents accounting for the cash. Over 1,565 bribery cases have been filed.

A public holiday had been declared in the State under the Negotiable Instruments Act to facilitate voting. In Chennai, businesses, factories, offices and shopping centres including malls were shut down for the day. Traffic was light on the roads, which wore a deserted a look with some movement picking up late in the evening.

Kerala, Puducherry

PTI reports: Kerala registered a turnout of 74.4 per cent respectively, in Puducherry it was the highest at 85.21 per cent, the Deputy Election Commissioner, Mr J.P. Prakash, told reporters in Delhi.

About 50 per cent of the Kerala's electorate voted till 1 p.m. on Wednesday to elect a new 140-member assembly, officials said.

According to figures released by the chief electoral officer, the State saw brisk voting in the first six hours of polling with the turnout at 48.5 per cent. The polling started at 7 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.

Kannur district saw the highest voter turnout at 53.20 per cent and the lowest was 43 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram.

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