Thattanchavady Assembly constituency records 80. 81% voting in the byelection

The byelection held in the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency of the Union Territory of Puducherry on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) recorded 80. 81% voter turnout, around 6.29% less than the figure for the Assembly election held in April to constitute the 16th Assembly.

The polling percentage registered in the constituency during the election held around five months ago was 87. 1. Of the total 26, 921 electors, 21, 756 voters exercised their franchise in the byelection, with more women voters turning up than men. As against 79. 97% of the men who turned up to vote, 81. 55% of the women voters exercised their franchise. In addition, 109 electors voted through postal ballot.

As polling started around 7 a .m., there was a steady rush of voters in the first few hours. The constituency recorded 39. 16% voting in the first four hours, about 4% more than the figure for the same hours in the Assembly election.

Whether it was due to the prevailing hot weather conditions or lack of enthusiasm, the flow of electors started coming down from around 11 a.m. The byelection was held after Chief Minister and All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) founder N. Rangaswamy chose to vacate Thattanchavady, while retaining Mangalam which he won.  The byelection passed off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from any of the 31 booths spread across 19 locations. 

A total of 11 candidates are in fray in the byelection, for which the ruling AINRC candidate, Ashok Anand, Sethu Selvam of the DMK, E. Vinayagam of the Congress, A. M. Saleem of the CPI, and Karthikumari of the Naam Tamilar Katchi ran an hectic campaign. The remaining candidates are Independents. While Mr. Ashok Anand cast his vote at St Joseph of Cluny Higher Secondary School, Lawspet, Mr. Sethu Selvam exercised his franchise at Government Branch Library at Pakkumudiyanpet. The Congress and CPI candidates are not the registered voters of Thattanchavady.

Of the total 26, 921 electors, 21, 756 voters exercised their franchise in the byelection from Thattanchavady, with more women voters turning up than men.
| Photo Credit:
S.S. KUMAR

Security tightened at counting centre

A three-tier security has been thrown around Motilal Nehru Government Polytechnic at Lawspet where the EVMs are kept in the strong rooms before the votes are counted on October 9. The strong rooms would be secured by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), the India Reserve Battalion, and the Puducherry Police. The CAPF personnel provides the first layer of security. The entire force protecting the strong rooms is under the supervision of a Superintendent of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) R. Kalaivanan told The Hindu.