Coimbatore: The district recorded a 11.6% rise in polling percentage in the first assembly election after the special intensive revision. The overall voting percentage this time stood at 84.8, compared to 73.2% in the 2021 election.While most constituencies in the district reported a significantly higher polling percentage on Thursday, Coimbatore South registered only a marginal increase in the number of votes polled despite the high-decibel campaigning by DMK’s V Senthilbalaji and his tall claims of a massive victory margin. The former DMK minister, who shifted his political focus from Karur to Coimbatore, had exuded confidence that the party would secure a victory margin of at least 50,000 votes in Coimbatore South. With many voters not turning up to cast their ballots in the constituency, political observers now say the winning margin could narrow this time. It was to end the dominance of AIADMK and its allies, which won all 10 constituencies in the district in the 2021 election, that DMK deployed Senthilbalaji in Coimbatore. And chief minister M K Stalin has been banking on Senthilbalaji to pen success in more than four seats in the district. Sitting AIADMK MLA Amman K Arjunan had also initially claimed that he would win by more than 50,000 votes. However, just a day ahead of polling he had sought cancellation of election in Coimbatore South, stating DMK was influencing voters by distributing cash. Political analysts had expected Coimbatore South to witness strong voting after the intense contest and high-profile campaigning. They say though the voter turnout percentage had sharply risen from the last election, the actual votes polled were negligible. In the 2021 assembly election, Coimbatore South had 2,52,790 voters. Of them, 1,54,765 had cast their votes, resulting in a turnout of 61.62%. After the special intensive revision, the number of voters dropped to 1,88,878 in 2026. On Thursday, 1,55,163 votes were polled, taking the turnout to 82.15%. Though the turnout percentage increased substantially on paper, the actual rise in votes polled was only 398. In Coimbatore North, where BJP candidate Vanathi Srinivasan faced DMK candidate Senthamil Selvan in a closely watched contest, 21,834 more votes were polled this election. In 2021, the constituency had 3,38,712 voters, of whom 2,02,860 voted, taking the turnout to 59.90%. Though the electorate fell to 2,96,939 after SIR, 2,24,694 votes were polled on Thursday, pushing up the turnout to 75.67%. Singanallur also registered a notable increase in polling percentage. The constituency had 2,76,926 voters in 2021, when 2,02,021 of them voted, taking the turnout to 72.94%. While the electorate stood at 2,69,941 after SIR, 2,19,165 votes were polled on Thursday, taking the turnout to 81.19%. That constituency polled 17,144 more votes on Thursday. Thondamuthur, from where former AIADMK minister SP Velumani is seeking reelection, recorded an increase of 26,245 votes this time. In 2021, the constituency had 3,26,779 voters and 2,30,531 votes were polled at a turnout of 70.54%. Though the electorate came down to 2,93,324 after SIR, 2,56,776 votes were polled on Thursday, taking the turnout to 87.54%. At 51,305, Kavundampalayam recorded the highest increase in votes polled in the district. The constituency had 4,65,345 voters in 2021, when 3,09,918 votes were polled, taking turnout to 66.59%. While the electorate dropped to 4,22,138 after SIR, 3,61,223 votes were polled on Thursday, taking the turnout to 85.57%. Pollachi, Sulur, Mettupalayam and Valparai, which are largely rural constituencies, also registered higher turnout percentages than in the previous election.
