Chennai, April 7(BPNS)
The Rural areas of Tamil Nadu showed higher turn outs when compared to Urban centres in the April 6, assembly elections of Tamil Nadu. While Killikurichi recorded the highest polling with 78% Namakkal had the second largest turn out with 77.9%, Ariyallur had 77.88%, Karur at 77.6%, Dharmapuri had a turnout of 77.23%, Peramballur had a voter turn out of 77.08%.
Chennai district had the least voter turnout with 59.4% followed by Chengalpet in the outskirts of Chennai with 62.77%, Tirunelvelli with 65.16%, Coimbatore with 66.98% , Ramanathapuram with 67.16% and Tirupur with 67.48%.
The higher voter turnout in rural centres seems to be of advantage to the AIADMK as the party leadership was expecting a silent support for the party in the villages of Tamil Nadu and DMK had banked its hopes on the Urban voter.
However DMK leaders have put up a brave face in the reduced poll percentage in Urban centres. Surulinathan ,Secretary of the party and senior leader while speaking to BPNS said, “ We are equally strong in Urban and Rural areas and generally there is a lethargy in the Urban areas and this is not a new phenomenon. Several factors have drawn the urban voters back while the village populace had properly utilized their democratic responsibility. However as far as DMK is concerned, we are least bothered as we are strong in both urban and rural centres of Tamil Nadu.”
On the other hand the AIADMK leadership is jubilant over the higher percentage of voter turnout in rural areas compared to the Urban areas.
M Senthilanathan,AIADMK leader while speaking to BPNS said, “AIADMK have an edge in rural areas and the higher voter percentage in rural areas shows that the people of the villages have come out in large numbers to vote. As I have told earlier, there is no anti incumbency factor against the AIADMK government and this is working in our favour.”
With the voting percentage of rural Tamil Nadu increasing when compared to the Urban centres, there is a possibility of the AIADMK having an edge as the party has been expecting a silent support for the AIADMK in the rural and interior areas of Tamil Nadu.
The 10.5% reservation for the Vanniyar community under the Most Backward Community (MBC) category and the 7.5% reservation in Medical colleges for students from government schools is another factor which has worked in favour of the AIADMK front in rural Tamil Nadu and party leadership is of the opinion that the higher voter turn out in rural areas is a clear reflection of these factors.
The senior leaders of AIADMK including Chief minister Edappady K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief minister O Panneerselvam had contested elections in their traditional rural bastions of Edapaddi and Theni while the senior leader of the DMK and its Chief minister candidate MK Stalin had contested from the city constituency of Kolathur. The presence of the AIADMK stalwarts from their respective home turfs have helped the AIADMK get a foothold in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu and the higher voting percentage in rural constituencies of the state is giving a fillip to the AIADMK, according to part sources.
