Over 10 Lakh People Travel from Chennai to Hometowns to Vote in Tamil Nadu Elections
In a massive movement ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, more than 10 lakh people have traveled from Chennai to their hometowns to cast their votes, creating unprecedented demand across transport services.
Chennai, being home to a large population from other districts, witnessed a huge outbound rush as workers, students, and professionals returned to their native places. Many of them had retained their voter registration in their hometowns, choosing to travel back to exercise their democratic right.
To manage the surge, the Tamil Nadu government operated over 10,000 special buses from April 21 until polling day. On April 21 alone, around 3,431 buses carried nearly 1.9 lakh passengers. Railways also played a major role, transporting approximately 1.5 lakh passengers through special train services to key destinations like Madurai and Coimbatore.
The rush intensified further the next day, with over 5,500 buses deployed, enabling around 3 lakh people to travel. Trains carried more than 2 lakh passengers, while an additional 1 lakh people used omni buses and private vehicles.
Despite these extensive arrangements, demand exceeded supply, forcing many travelers to rely on omni buses and personal vehicles. In some cases, passengers reported high fares in private omni bus services, adding to their travel difficulties.
Transport services across major cities such as Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Coimbatore, Salem, and Tirunelveli also saw increased operations to facilitate voter movement.
Authorities have also arranged additional return services for passengers traveling back to Chennai after polling, ensuring smoother transit in the coming days.
This large-scale travel underscores the strong voter participation and commitment among the public to take part in the democratic process.
