R K Nagar by-poll sees 78% voter turn out for Jayalalithaa's vacant seat

Voting of the Radhakrishnan Nagar (R.K.Nagar) Assembly by-poll on Thursday saw 78 per cent out of over two lakh voters exercising their democratic right, the Election Commission said.

One of the small constituencies in the state, around 1.77 lakh voted, sealing the electoral fate of 59 contenders.

The major contenders are AIADMK's E. Madhusudhanan, DMK's N. Marudhu Ganesh, T.T.V. Dinakaran -- contesting as an Independent -- and Bharatiya Janata Party's K. Nagarajan.

The election, which ended at 5 p.m., saw brisk ballotting.

The by-poll was necessitated following the death of AIADMK leader and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on December 5, 2016, who represented the seat.

There were reports of malfunctioning of an electronic voting machine at one polling booth, the officials said.

The counting of votes will take place on December 24.

Elaborate security arrangements were made with around 15 companies of para-military forces and over 2,500 security personnel and several closed circuit television cameras, flying squads and static surveillance teams being deployed.

Although the poll was first scheduled to be held in April, it was cancelled due to complaints of large-scale voter bribing by a candidate.