TN Rajya Sabha Election Polling Thursday June 27,2013

Election to six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu on Thursday June 27,2013 saw brisk polling.The Assembly Committee Room at Fort St George was the polling venue. The poll observer and Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar was present throughout the process of polling.

Though voting began at around 11 30 a.m, nearly two and a half hours after the scheduled time of the commencement of poll, it was over in a little over two hours. 

Out of 234 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), all but 3 exercised their franchise. The3 MLAs belonging to Pattali Makkal Katchi(PMK) did not cast their votes in line with the decision of their party. 

The Chief Minister and the AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa was the first to cast vote around 11.25 a.m .By 1 p.m., all the 151 AIADMK MLAs and 19 members belonging to the AIADMK's allies -- Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (Marxist) and the All India Forward Bloc - completed casting their votes.

The DMK president and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who came to the Fort around 1.10 p.m., came out of the polling station 10 minutes later.

Immediately after the DMK leader left the polling station, Leader of Opposition and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) president Vijayakant exercised his franchise

All 7 rebel DMDK MLAs cast their votes. At the polling station, they displayed their ballot papers to the authorised agents of the DMDK before putting the papers into the box.

Counting of votes is expected to be taken up at about 5 p.m.