rk nagar by polls, rk nagar election, ttv dinakaran, vijayabaskar
TTV DhinakaranTwitter

RK Nagar constituency residents began casting their votes at 8 am on Thursday to elect the new MLA who will succeed J Jayalalithaa in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Former CM Jayalalithaa had represented the seat twice until December 5, 2016, when she passed away.

This election holds a lot of importance as seen it will serve as a litmus test for the AIADMK, which is currently in power in the TN government.

Madhusudhanan, AIADMK praesidium chairman, DMK's Marudhu Ganesh and TTV Dhinakaran, a former AIADMK deputy general secretary who had been sidelined, are contesting the elections.

Here are the LIVE updates:

1:28 pm IST: 41.6 percent voter turnout till 1 pm, says the Election Commission. 

12:45 pm IST: 23.74 percent voting recorded from 166 booths across RK Nagar constituency until 11 am.

11:45 pm IST: 10.99 percent of polling has been recorded till 10 am.

10:45 am IST: TTV Dhinakaran is also confident of his victory.

10:23 am IST: AIADMK candidate E. Madhusudhanan has also casted his vote.

9:55 am IST: As of 9 am, 7.32  percent voter turnout was recorded from 173 booths, says Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni.

9:30 am IST: According to a News18 report, the prime contesting parties have been accused of bribing voters.

"The TTV faction, DMK as well as the ruling AIADMK are giving Rs 20 for each for each votes. We have also complained to the Election Commission but it seems that the poll body is helpless," BJP candidate K Nagarajan told News18.

8:38 am IST: BJP candidate Karu Nagarajan has arrived at a polling booth to cast his vote.

8:30 am IST: DMK candidate Ganesh has cast his vote.

8:20 am IST:  DMK candidate N Marudhu Ganesh reaches a polling booth to cast his vote

8:15 am IST: RK Nagar residents are piling up at polling booths to cast their votes.

8:05 am IST: Security has been beefed up in RK Nagar.

8:01 am IST: Polling for the RK Nagar constituency has begun.

Also Read