This blog was the first to float the theory that higher voter turnout favours the DMK and had argued that cash-for-votes historically do not significantly change the voter preferences except in a dead heat.
In less than a month since we launched this blog, the response had been tremendous and overwhelming. We expect to cross the 10,000 page-load hit mark by tomorrow. The blog has a readership that cuts across political affiliations and apparently a section of our readership do not share our opinion that the high voter turnout favoured the DMK. A reader who goes by the name of SK, based at Muscat, Oman argues:
"Despite the bravdo of DMK, ground reports from friends and media sources say there was an urge for change in Tamilnadu. This time people may have accepted money but voted for change!
No opinion poll other than Nakkheeran predicts DMK front ahead. Of course exitpollopinionpollsindia.blogspot.com also Obliquely seems to agree with Nakkheeran. Vikatan,kumudam.lensonline,Marg headlines today, Outlook MRB,tamil leader.in, IB report centre,Pudiyapaadai,IB report state think DMK is losing. Truth Dive website walks the balance with one report favoring DMK and other AIADMK but has not commissioned any poll or survey.
Can every Survey other than Nakkheeran be wrong including state and central agencies?
So is there a final nail in the coffin?"
SK feels that the following article by Frontline substantiates his case.
Was there a wave?
Tamil Nadu records its highest ever voter turnout of 78 per cent in the one-day election to a 234-member Assembly.
ON April 13, in the elections to the 234-member State Assembly, Tamil Nadu witnessed its highest ever voter turnout of 78 per cent. The earlier record was set in 1967 when 76.57 per cent voters came to the polling station to vote out the then Congress government.
Wherever the polling booth was, be it in Tiruvanmiyur, Besant Nagar, Alandur or Tambaram in Chennai; Sellur, Jai Hind Puram, Kudal Nagar or Muthupatti in Madurai; Athiyutru village in Tirunelveli district; or parts of Tiruchi, Thanjavur or any other district, people began making a beeline for the polling booths right from 8 a.m. Women in villages, farmhands, workers in industrial towns, college students, senior citizens and middle-class voters did not shy away from the long queues.
For a State that is used to low voting percentages, this enthusiasm came as a big surprise. Voters seem to have come of age, realised the importance of the franchise and the need to exercise it with certainty.
The polling was generally peaceful, with no major incidents of violence reported from anywhere. There was all-round praise from the voters for the State's Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar and his team for the efficient manner in which the elections were conducted.
“The projection is that 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the people voted,” Praveen Kumar said a few hours after polling ended. Karur recorded the highest turnout, with 86 per cent of the voters hitting the blue button on the electronic voting machines.
The temple town of Tiruvarur, where Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M. Karunanidhi is fighting it out with Kodavasal M. Rajendran of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), recorded 75 per cent. After he voted, Karunanidhi said, with his inimitable sense of humour, “The DMK's chances of victory are as bright as the rising sun” (the party's election symbol).
Srirangam, from where former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa is contesting against N. Anand of the DMK, 73 per cent of the voters came out to vote. Jayalalithaa predicted “a landslide win” for her party. Kolathur in Chennai, where M.K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister and Karunanidhi's son, is contesting, recorded 68 per cent. In Rishivandhiyam, where film actor and founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) Vijayakant is contesting, the turnout was 83 per cent. In Madurai district, where the DMK strongman and Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister M.K. Alagiri was the architect of the party's strategy, the turnout was 77 per cent. About 68.7 per cent of the electorate voted in Chennai, the State capital.
There were many reasons for this high turnout. Praveen Kumar said, “We can attribute it to the political parties and the people themselves.” The awareness created by a campaign on National Voters' Day and other publicity campaigns “had perhaps created a feeling among the youth that they should vote”, he said. Some of the political parties “had projected a sense of close contest and so an election atmosphere” was created. A lot of young people were seen voting in Chennai and middle- and upper middle-class people from posh localities too turned up to vote, he said.
Asked whether the distribution of cash in many constituencies had lured voters, Praveen Kumar replied, “I will not link it to that. I will say it is political mobilisation.”
ON April 13, in the elections to the 234-member State Assembly, Tamil Nadu witnessed its highest ever voter turnout of 78 per cent. The earlier record was set in 1967 when 76.57 per cent voters came to the polling station to vote out the then Congress government.
Wherever the polling booth was, be it in Tiruvanmiyur, Besant Nagar, Alandur or Tambaram in Chennai; Sellur, Jai Hind Puram, Kudal Nagar or Muthupatti in Madurai; Athiyutru village in Tirunelveli district; or parts of Tiruchi, Thanjavur or any other district, people began making a beeline for the polling booths right from 8 a.m. Women in villages, farmhands, workers in industrial towns, college students, senior citizens and middle-class voters did not shy away from the long queues.
For a State that is used to low voting percentages, this enthusiasm came as a big surprise. Voters seem to have come of age, realised the importance of the franchise and the need to exercise it with certainty.
The polling was generally peaceful, with no major incidents of violence reported from anywhere. There was all-round praise from the voters for the State's Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar and his team for the efficient manner in which the elections were conducted.
“The projection is that 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the people voted,” Praveen Kumar said a few hours after polling ended. Karur recorded the highest turnout, with 86 per cent of the voters hitting the blue button on the electronic voting machines.
The temple town of Tiruvarur, where Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M. Karunanidhi is fighting it out with Kodavasal M. Rajendran of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), recorded 75 per cent. After he voted, Karunanidhi said, with his inimitable sense of humour, “The DMK's chances of victory are as bright as the rising sun” (the party's election symbol).
Srirangam, from where former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa is contesting against N. Anand of the DMK, 73 per cent of the voters came out to vote. Jayalalithaa predicted “a landslide win” for her party. Kolathur in Chennai, where M.K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister and Karunanidhi's son, is contesting, recorded 68 per cent. In Rishivandhiyam, where film actor and founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) Vijayakant is contesting, the turnout was 83 per cent. In Madurai district, where the DMK strongman and Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister M.K. Alagiri was the architect of the party's strategy, the turnout was 77 per cent. About 68.7 per cent of the electorate voted in Chennai, the State capital.
There were many reasons for this high turnout. Praveen Kumar said, “We can attribute it to the political parties and the people themselves.” The awareness created by a campaign on National Voters' Day and other publicity campaigns “had perhaps created a feeling among the youth that they should vote”, he said. Some of the political parties “had projected a sense of close contest and so an election atmosphere” was created. A lot of young people were seen voting in Chennai and middle- and upper middle-class people from posh localities too turned up to vote, he said.
Asked whether the distribution of cash in many constituencies had lured voters, Praveen Kumar replied, “I will not link it to that. I will say it is political mobilisation.”
The political fronts are waiting for the electoral outcome on May 13 with bated breath in what is seen as a do-or-die battle
On this day, as part of our consistent efforts to make technology work for the people, we are launching a service aiming to give people “Right to Opinion”.
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