Sivanesathurai Chanthirakanthan, aka Pillaiyan, the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, cast his vote at a polling station located at Vipulananda Vidyalaya in Valaichenai yesterday morning.

Pillaiyan told journalists that it was the first time he had ever voted at an election. He felt strongly that the election was a huge step in the right direction in entering the democratic mainstream. The polls marked a new dawn in the East, he said.

After casting his vote in the Koralepattu Pradeshiya Sabha elections, he said the people in the East had realised the need for a change.

"Similarly, we, the TMVP, too, have realised the need for a change." He said the results of the elections to the nine local Government bodies would definitely act as a catalyst in the Eastern Province politics.